Monthly Archives: June 2012

food porn! the costco edition

Posted on June 30, 2012 | 1 Comment

lately, the hubs and i have noticed an influx in our grocery spending; between bags of daiya, nuts, avocados, etc we’ve really been doing some damage to our bank account. our goal this summer has been to shave as much from our grocery bill as possible, and to help i’ve enlisted the Costco membership that i have thanks to owning my own business! i’ve been completely surprised with Costco’s variety of organic foods- a 4lb bag of quinoa was only $5.99! at the co-op quinoa (notably though from a more sustainable company) is around $7.99 a pound. huge difference. it’s been fun finding ways to use old leftovers and frozen bricks lurking in the freezer, heres what i came up with over the past week!

TOSTADAS!

TOSTADAS!

i bought a ginormous bag of la perla tortillas for $2 and froze them- sadly, they didn’t all thaw well, but who can tell when you brush them with oil and grill them to crispy perfection? no one!

cheesy quinoa and salad

cheesy quinoa and salad

i saw a recipe on pinterest for “cheesy quinoa” and i thought i’d give a vegan version a shot- YUM CITY. make some quinoa, make some nooch sauce, and mix them together. i also added some steamed broccolini that i of course got for a steal at costco. oh, and those sexy mixed greens? 4$ for a 1lb container.

chickpeas and greens over risotto

chickpeas and greens over risotto

i found a mystery bag of arborio and a can of chickpeas kicking around on top of the fridge- combined with some leftover collards, baby kale (4.00 for 1 1/2 lbs at costco), organic tomatoes (79c a can!!!!) white wine, and random herbs i had a lovely, and completely stick-to-your ribs comforting meal.

TACOS!

TACOS!

yep, lots of tacos/tostadas happened this week and i ain’t complaining! *also, i’m super happy that wordpress doesn’t recognize ‘ain’t’ as a word. whew! we had a frozen container of tomatillo sauce from our last tamale adventure sitting forlornly in the freezer, so we simmered 2 cans of jackfruit in it and made tacos!

spicy tempeh and broccoli rabe

spicy tempeh and broccoli rabe

this is the spicy fennel tempeh and broccoli rabe recipe from veganomicon, over quinoa instead of pasta. broccolini was 4 or 5 bucks for a huge bag from earthbound organics at costco- we easily got 6 meals out of it including leftovers, whereas at the co-op non-organic broccolini is 2.50 for roughly 1/3rd pound. definitely a win in my book.

pizza!

pizza!

ok, so the only thing on this pizza that came from costco was the broccolini, but who cares? sometimes you need a friggin pizza.

groceries

groceries

kale, teriyaki (4$ for that giant bottle of sauce!!!!) and various goodies combined to make:

peppery teriyaki tofu

peppery teriyaki tofu

i used organicville teriyaki sauce as my base, but doctored it up with 1/2+ tsp of freshly ground peppercorns, garlic, and samba oelek paste. seriously tasty.

so. all in all, costco may not be the happiest place on earth, *assholes galore in the parking lot* but i have a bevy of organic, affordable produce and staples in my fridge and pantry that should hopefully help lighten the burden on my wallet, so i can buy other things; like say a liter of 2 gingers whisky for $16.00. a girl can get used to this.

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Posted in can be Gluten Free, field trip!, food porn, Gluten Free, shopping, Uncategorized

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Coconut Sticky Rice Dessert Rolls!

Posted on June 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

here is the other half of the post i did for the high plains thrifter! you can tell i wrote it for someone else because i went out of my way to capitalize sentences. lol.

Mango sticky rice is always heavenly after a spicy meal, but impossible to take with on a picnic, until now! These are best eaten the day of, without refrigeration so that the outer wrapper does not harden, but by all means, wrap these gems in a little saran wrap and toss them into the top of your cooler! *note, some rice paper sheets are thicker than others, i used blue dragon brand from the co-op and had to double them up to make rolls that were sturdy enough to be held without tearing. if they soften in less than 15 seconds in hot tap water, you may need 2 per roll!

Makes 8 rolls

1 package rice paper wraps (16 sheets)

1 c glutenous rice- i used alter-eco purple sticky rice from the co-op

1 can full fat coconut milk

1 c sugar

2 cups ripe fruit such as ‘atulfa’ mango, strawberries, bananas, etc cut into 1/4″ slices

rinse the rice in a mesh strainer for one minute to wash away any extra starch. bring 1 1/4 c water to boil in a saucepan. add the rice, reduce to a simmer and cook until the grains have expanded and are soft, but not mushy (this is not a traditional method, in case you were wondering). While the rice cooks, open the can of coconut milk and scoop out the cream from the top of the can. mix this with the sugar in a heatproof bowl and microwave until almost boiling- about 2 minutes. Once the rice is done, pour the coconut sauce over the rice, mix well, and let stand, covered, until cooled to room temperature. Once the rice is cool, stir it well and add any extra coconut water if needed to thin to a spoonable consistency. *You can make the rice a day in advance! Just bring it to room temperature before using in your rolls.

Now, for the assembly! Take a 9×13 cake pan and fill it 1/2 way with hot tap water. Get a flour sack towel (any non-linty towel) and get it damp and lay it out on your work space. Now, soak 1-2 rice sheets until very soft and lay out on the towel. Blot the rice paper with the damp towel until sticky. Place a layer of fruit across the center of your sheet, leaving an inch or so on each side. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of sticky rice over the fruit, and fold up. To fold bring the top of the paper over the filling before folding in the sides, and lastly, rolling into the bottom. This is just like making a burrito! Place seam side down on a plate before filling and rolling the rest. Wrap individually in saran wrap before packing into your cooler, or enjoy immediately.

mango sticky rice spring rolls- for dessert!

mango sticky rice spring rolls- for dessert!

isn't the purple rice lovely?

isn’t the purple rice lovely?

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Posted in Gluten Free, snacks, sweets

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Arepas stuffed with BBQ Jackfruit!

Posted on June 5, 2012 | Leave a comment
bbq jackfruit arepas

bbq jackfruit arepas

people!- i totally wrote the BEST post ever about yesterdays dinner and i accidentally deleted it. i am so bummed right now! ugh. it was something about how arepas are the new tacos, and how i was trying to replicate a pull pork and avocado torta that the hubby used to eat as a child, and then WHOOPS, deletesville, population 1. excuse my lack of wit as i try to re-type the recipe without going bonkers. the arepa dough is the same basic recipe as viva vegan’s, and pretty much the same recipe on the bag of masarepa that i bought- i think all you need to shoot for is a texture similar to “heavy mashed potatoes”. now if only i had another stuffed arepa to shove in my mouth to take away the agony of my first ‘lost’ post!

xoxoxo

jen

BBQ Jackfruit Stuffed Arepas

makes 6

you will need

2 cups masarepa- i use harinaPAN

2 c warm water

1/2 tsp salt

2- 20oz cans young green jackfruit in brine- rinsed, gently squeezed, and rinsed again

1/2-3/4 c vegetable stock

1 c of your favorite barbecue sauce

hot sauce, avocados, veganaise, and limes for assembling.

first, make your jackfruit! start by heating a few tablespoons of oil in a large cast iron skillet. add the jackfruit and brown on all sides. now, add in the vegetable stock and simmer while mashing with a potato masher or a fork until it shreds and begins to resemble pulled pork. pour in enough barbecue sauce to coat and simmer until completely absorbed and set aside.

now for the arepas! preheat the oven to 35o and start heating a cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. place the masarepa flour and the salt in a large bowl. pour in the water and mix either by hand or with an electric mixer until a slightly sticky, heavy dough forms. if needed, add extra flour or water to achieve the proper consistency. divide the though into six balls, and flatten each one into a ‘biscuit’. lightly oil your skillet before placing the arepas in it, and cook them until browned on both sides, turning once. when finished, pop them in the oven and bake for roughly 10 minutes per side- you’ll know they’re done when they sound hollow when tapped. you can also take this time to put the jackfruit shreds on a second baking sheet and put them in the oven too to help firm up the texture by drying out extra moisture.

when the arepas are barely cool enough to handle, split them open 3/4 of the way through and give them a little smear of veganaise before stuffing with avocado slices and jackfruit. sprinkle with lime, salt, and hot sauce before devouring.

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Posted in Gluten Free, grilling, mexican, sandwich, sexay nom nom nom, whats for dinner?

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guest post: summery quinoa salad recipe

Posted on June 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Reblogged from high plains thrifter:

Click to visit the original post
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Hey dearies, happy Monday!

To kick off the week, I'm turning the blog over to the lovely Jen Cortez, co-owner of The Hive Salon and blogger behind Midwest Vaygun. I asked Jen to share one of her favorite healthy dishes with us this week and the menu she came up with sounds downright divine, especially considering my recent barbecue bender in Kansas City.

Read more… 652 more words

Hey Peeps, check out my guest post on High Plains Thrifter! Happy Grilling!

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Posted in Uncategorized

Food Porn!

Posted on June 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’m now on Tumblr too- which is a great way to see what i’m eating on the daily. i can’t be the only one who likes ‘what i had for lunch’ posts, right?

purple mango coconut sticky rice spring rolls

purple mango coconut sticky rice spring rolls

i made these, and a few other asian inspired summer treats for a lady-friends blog- coming soon!

areas with sexy tempeh avocado filling

areas with sexy tempeh avocado filling

you know, from viva vegan. my favorite book ever.

my grocery store!

this my friends was a huge task: we wanted to double our growing capabilities so we dug out and built in a garden box! we used cedar 4×4′s and stakes to frame it out, and filled it with soil from our backyard, and mushroom compost. we have 6 tomato varieties this year! i’m so excited to watch everything grow.

miso yummy eggplant

i brushed eggplant slices in a mixture of miso, mirin, rice wine, sugar, and soy sauce before broiling to a nice crisp. they were supposed to be eaten with sushi rice, but ended up on an equally yummy salad.

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Posted in food porn, sexay nom nom nom

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