Category: Tomato

Black Beans and Brown Rice

1/10/2017

A good friend of ours lived in Costa Rica for a couple years after college. Recently we were over at his place and he made us beans and rice for dinner, which he had learned how to make there. It had been on my list of recipes to try that I just never got around to making, but that night inspired me! It was so easy to make, cooking everything in the same pot, and it was delicious! I had worried in the past that the dish was too simple and would leave me unsatisfied, but I was wrong. The rice and beans stick to your ribs, you can add all the veggies you want, and the spices add a ton of flavor.

It's been a few months since that night, so I was cooking from memory. Onion and peppers are the standard veggies to add, but feel free to include whatever your favorites are. Same goes for the color of pepper, beans, and rice. If you change out the rice, but sure to make sure you have the right amount of water. Check the cooking instructions for your rice. Mine called for 2 cups of liquid for 1 cup of rice, so I decided to split it evenly between water and veggie broth. For some reason I love adding cinnamon into Mexican/Carribbean type dishes. I don't think it's typical in this dish but I love the complexity that it adds (not to mention the health benefits).

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion
2 Red Peppers
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Tablespoon Oregano
2 teaspoons Cumin
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Cup Brown Rice
1 Can Black Beans
1 Cup Vegetable Broth
1 Cup Water
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper
1-2 Avocados
1 Bunch Green Onion
1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes Cook Time: 40-45 minutes Servings: 4

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Dice onion, peppers, and garlic and add to pot. Add spices - oregano, cumin, paprika, and cinnamon. Stir together. Cook for about 10 minutes or until peppers and onions are soft.

Add rice and stir for about 2 minutes.

Add beans, vegetable broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover pot and let sit for 20-25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

While this is cooking, chop the avocado, tomato, and green onions for your garnish.

Turn the heat off. Add the ground red pepper, stir, and let sit for about ten minutes.

Serve, topped with the avocado, tomato, and rice.

Enjoy!

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Black Bean Dip

4/8/2015

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Black Bean Dip #vegan #glutenfree #oilfree

This is dip will fill just about any need you have and overrule any excuse you can come up with:

Never cooked anything before? Are your store bought trays the laughing stock of every dinner party? Ease yourself into it and surprise everyone with this homemade dish!
Forgot you had a dinner party tonight? Did the dish you plan on making turn out terrible? You have time to make this!
Do you have what to eat snack food and not feel bad about it? - This is basically just black beans! Protein and fiber all the way!
The only vegan going to an event? Want something small that you can eat as an app and a main dish and other people will like? Here you go!

I made this dish as I was walking out the door on my way to a dinner party - literally. And not in the literally but not actually, I literally had my coat on and was walking out the door, when I decided I needed to bring something else (hence the lack of photos). It was that fast and easy to make. I even had to defrost my beans - that took about half the time!

We were heading over to a friend's place for some tacos and I was the only vegan/vegetarian going. It was a small event, only about 4 or 5 people, so not a huge potluck where everyone was bringing a dish. I wanted to make sure I had something to eat, but didn't want to bring too much. This was perfect. I was able to share it with the party as an app and then I used the dip as the meat of my tacos.

I dumped all the ingredients except the tomatoes into the food processor and blended them until it was smooth and I was happy with the flavor. We were stopping at the convenience store to pick up some chips and guac, so I grabbed some cherry tomatoes as well and added them to the dish once we got to my friend's place.

So next time you're in a pickle and need something quick, easy, delicious and nutritious - think of making a bean dip! You can use it as a spread on sandwiches, as a filling in tacos, burritos, or enchiladas, or as a dip with chips or fresh veggies! You could really use any kind of bean in this recipe - black, kidney, white, chickpeas, lentils - get creative! Mix it up!

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Hot Sauce
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Adobo Seasoning
1 Can Black Beans
2 Teaspoons Dried Cilantro
1 Tablespoon Water
1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes

Prep Time: 1 minute

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Serves: A big party as an app or use as a filling for tacos. You could probably make about 12 tacos with this.

Instructions:
Drain and rinse beans.

Add all ingredients except the tomatoes to a food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust spiciness and seasonings to taste. Transfer the dip to a bowl.

Dice the tomatoes and them to the bowl, stirring everything together. Serve and enjoy!

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Beyond Meat Tacos

1/12/2015

4 Comments

I try to eat whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible, but I like to try a new vegan product at least once. I find it exciting when I see advancements in vegan food options and I think vegan meat alternatives are a great way to help those making the transition from omnivore to vegetarian or vegan diets.

These Beyond Meat beef crumbles are so close to the real thing its amazing. Plus they're so convenient. They come frozen and defrost so quickly. You just dump the frozen crumbles right into your saute pan with a little bit of water and they're quickly ready to go. As you'll see in the instructions below, this was a super quick dinner came together in a breeze. The longest part was chopping up the tomato and avocado and putting everything in little bowls!

Cashew sour cream is a great alternative for those trying to avoid soy or if you just don't have any tofu in the house. That's how I found myself the other night, so I decided to whip up some cashew sour cream. Jay loves cashew sour cream more than regular, although tofu sour cream is his favorite, since it's naturally creamier. When I make cashew sour cream I make sure so blend it for as long as possible so that it gets creamier, since it can tend to have more of a grainy texture. Soaking the cashews beforehand can help with this, but I didn't have any time - the crumbles cooked so quickly and we were hungry!

Ingredients:
1 Package Beyond Meat Frozen Beef Crumbles
6 Taco Tortillas (I used La Nina Tortillas)
1 Packet Taco Seasoning (I used Ortega 40% Less Sodium)

Toppings:
1 Avocado
4 oz Cherry Tomatoes
Spinach or other green

Cashew Sour Cream:
1/2 Cup Cashews
1/3 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 6 tacos

Instructions:
Slice the avocado and tomato.

Cook frozen Beyond Meat Crumbles on the stove with a little bit of water until it is no longer frozen. Add the taco seasoning a stir until well combined.

Add the cashews, water, and lemon juice to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Heat a second pan over the stove. Place a tortilla on the pan for about a minute, or until crispy, then flip to the other side and repeat.

Tear the spinach and place it on the tortilla, add a quarter cup of taco mix, sour cream, avocado, and tomato. Enjoy!

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Scrambled Tofu

11/23/2014

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Scrambled Tofu is a quick and easy breakfast dish, especially if you have Vegg vegan egg yolk replacer. Vegg has both an egg yolk replacer and a egg replacer for baking. I've only used the egg yolk version in pretty basic ways, mainly sprinkling it on tofu. It's main ingredient is nutritional yeast, which is high in B12 (the only essential nutrient that vegans do not get naturally in their diet).

Ingredients:
1 Package Firm Tofu
4 Tablespoons Vegg Vegan Egg Yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt (if you have Himalayan Pink Salt that will add a sulfery taste)
1 teaspoon pepper
Tomato
Spinach
Avocado

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4 as a side or 2 as a main dish

Pressing my tofu

Instructions:
Wrap and press all the water out of the tofu. This is not essential, but will produce a better product. Because tofu comes in water, it helps to press the tofu out so that it can absorb whatever flavors you are adding to it. I wrapped my tofu in paper towels and a dish cloth and then put something heavy on it, like the inside of my slow cooker. If anyone is looking for a Christmas gift a Tofu Press would be awesome. I pressed my tofu for 10-15 minutes, but however much time you have is good. If you're pressed for time, you can still have a good scrambled tofu without it.

Add a little bit of water to your pan and crumble the tofu into the pan so that it resembles the texture of scrambled eggs. You can continue to break up the tofu as you cook it. Add 1 tablespoon of Vegg for every quarter of your tofu. In these pictures I made half of my tofu with two tablespoons of Vegg. Continue to cook, mix, and add a little bit of water until all the Vegg is absorbed and the tofu is yellow. Add salt and pepper to taste. I generally top mine with some tomatoes and avocado and my favorite condiments - Heinz Ketchup and Sriracha. Eat on it's own or serve with some bean and/or potato hash.

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Avocado, Tomato, Caramelized Onion Sandwich

11/3/2014

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Happy National Sandwich Day!

I found out today is National Sandwich Day so I thought I would make one for dinner! I had one little onion and decided that cooking that in some balsamic vinegar would add some interesting flavor. I added my favorite vegetables of avocado and tomato along with some of my Something GUD greens, Sriracha (one of my all time favorite condiments) and some Daiya Provolone cheese. I don't eat store bought vegan cheese often, but I made a trip to Whole Foods last week so I happened to have some on hand.

Ingredients:
One small onion
1/2 TB Coconut Oil (or Olive) or Water
1 TB Balsamic Vinegar

Two slices of bread
1 Half an Avocado
Two slices of Tomato
1/2 Cup of Greens
Sriracha (optional)
Slice of non-dairy cheese (optional)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Servings: One Sandwich

Instructions:

Heat oil or water in a skillet over medium-low heat. Slice onions and add to skillet. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until they start to get translucent. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook until it's all absorbed by the onions.

Meanwhile, spread the avocado on one side of the bread. Add the greens and slices of tomato on top. Once the onions are done cooking add them as well. If you would like add a little sriracha and a slice of cheese on top, before finishing with the second slice of bread.

Place the sandwich on a baking sheet and either put in a toaster oven or a broiler for 3-5 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the sandwich is warmed all the way through. Enjoy!

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Black Beans and Brown Rice

Black Bean Dip

Beyond Meat Tacos

Scrambled Tofu

Avocado, Tomato, Caramelized Onion Sandwich

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﻿Black Beans and Brown Rice

Black Bean Dip

Beyond Meat Tacos

Scrambled Tofu

Avocado, Tomato, Caramelized Onion Sandwich

Author

Categories

Archives

Black Beans and Brown Rice