Spiralizers, Noodles, and Quick Meals

I will have 2 posts today!  This first one is foods I have been eating lately.  I've really been on the Zucchini Noodles hardcore the last few weeks and I don't see an end in sight!  I've had the Spirooli for at least 2 years now and I like it BUT since getting my newest appliance I can now say I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Joyce Chen Spiral Slicer even more!  I used the Joyce Chen when I did these noodles shown!  I think I like it better because they make a thinner and more consistent noodle with less effort and it's even easier to clean!

I've been messing around with several raw sauces and will be posting them over at The Raw Food World NEWS Recipe Section in the near future!

I have had several days over the past few weeks were I have had about 5 minutes to make something if I was going to eat anything at all other than fruit!  I've even been a lacking in the greens department!  Oye!

So I remember buying some of the Wegman's Brand Chickpeas that were already flavored.  The flavor was Marsala and they were pretty good!  I have them pictured here over brown rice.  It's a very light brown rice but it's still brown rice.

I'm still in the process of trying to pack my foods for the day in my car.  My mom had an extra cooler bag which will work nicely until I find a larger one at a better price.  I saw a YouTube video that John Kohler did a while back with a Coleman Cooler that plugged into your car and was like a refrigerator which was awesome but I haven't seen one locally yet!  Video is posted at this end of this post so check it out!

As for this elbow mac dish it didn't turn out the best but it was still edible.  I really wanted it to be thicker and creamier.

I used Corn Pasta and for the sauce a combo of almond milk, 6 cherry tomatoes, spinach, soy flour, minced garlic, hemp seeds, and topped with Vegan Chipotle Parmesan.

I had a bit of a surprise over the weekend that I will be sharing with you later today!  So be sure to stop back!

Now take a look at this video that is from OKRAW's YouTube Channel.  If you aren't familiar with the YouTuber - that is John Kohler!

Cards, Wine Making, & Vegan Wildtree Recipes

Here's a card I created earlier this week.  It's a bit different from the others I have done because I folded each layer over top and on to the back...usually I use design the front of them.  I really like the way this turned out!  I also used some gems, an adhesive embellishment, die-cut with "Remember" on it as well as an acrylic stamp for the I YOU U part.  I think it's FINALLY feeling right...me getting back into my crafting!  YAY!

Speaking of hobbies...my Dad is getting into one recently...WINE MAKING!  I'm so proud of him!  My father is a great guy...fun and goofy, too!  His mother's family came over from Ireland.  So he's half Irish and darn proud to be!  He's tinkering with the name Leapin' Leprechaun Wine.  He's already bottled his first red wine.  I think he's going to enter it into a contest in April.  He has judged it in the past but if he enters his wine in the contest he can't be a judge (obviously).  But I think it would be great if he placed in some way!  I'm trying to help him with the wine names.  It's fun!  Next he's going to do a semi-sweet white, I think.  This is the first version on his label that a friend of his created.  They are already working on the 2nd revision, tho.  They are going to change the graphic a bit as well as the slogan.  That's my Dad's face in the Leprechaun!  He's so funny!

This week I made this Avocado Lime Dressing and it was fabulous. 

Here's what's in this Dressing...

1 Avocado
1/4-1/2 C Water
2-3 T Lime Juice
1 tea Wildtree Adobo Seasoning
2 tea Minced Garlic

Also earlier this week I made Chana Punjabi.  It turned out really tasty!
Here's what was in this dish!

2 C Chickpeas
1 Onion
2 Tomatoes
2 tea Minced Garlic
1/4 tea Turmeric
1/2 - 1 tea Wildtree's Garam Marsala Blend

What have you been up to this week!?

Vegan MoFo ~ Polish Creamed Mushrooms, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Fettuccine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

 I'm kind of going backwards on this post but oh well!  Check this out!  It was one of my creations from last night!  The Finished Product!  It's Fettuccine with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce!

It all started with an idea and turned into this!  The idea originally came from me wanting to try more Vegan Polish Foods.  Plus with all of the visitors from Poland I have had over the last few weeks/month(s) I wanted to do a Shout-Out to my friends from Poland!

After doing some research I found that Creamed Mushrooms are a Polish Favorite!  I have to admit I haven't had anything "creamed" since going vegan last year!

Oh!  By the way - it's been a whole year as of this week!  Woot!  Prior to that I was Lacto/Lacto-Ovo Veg for 18 years!  Anyways...sorry for the side rant there...In this post I will show you some variations for these 3 dishes!  Basically from the same idea. 

As I started in with the sauce I did the following...
 1/4 C Earth Balance
2 Cloves Garlic
10-ounces Mushrooms (I used Organic Frozen from Whole Foods I believe there were 9 varieties in there)
1 C Soy Milk
1/4 C Tofutti Sour Cream
1 T Soy Flour (Bob's Red Mills)

Honestly...at this point I tried a spoonful of it and it reminded me of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup (but even better!) and it was very rich!  I'm going to try and make more of this at some point as a soup for my lunches!  It was AMAZING!

Now...for the Polish Creamed Mushrooms...I added some Onion...1 Onion, actually.  And some Dill.  Again, this is something I am going to try again and soon!  Next time I will add more mushrooms and a bit more Sour Cream for the Vegan Polish Creamed Mushrooms.

And FINALLY...for the Fettuccine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce you can use it as-is and/or you could add a little more soy/almond milk and some pepper and herbs if you wish.  I personally, LOVE Parsley on just about anything so I added a bit of that to the end as you can see from the first photo!

Yesterday when I told you about my Garam Masala Attempt and told you I would probably use the leftovers in a wrap - well - I did.  Here you can see my Dinner from last night.  In addition to the leftovers I did Organic Cauliflower (Frozen) and did a cheese sauce with some Daiya Cheese I needed to use!  I just added Almond Milk and Earth Balance.

Normally I don't use this much Earth Balance in 2 or 3 days time (altho it only added up to about 1/4 C plus 1 T) but I was running low on Onions and Grapeseed Oil.  I often use Onions as my "oil" or "moisture" while cooking.  Plus both of these dishes made HUGE batches so I have multiple meals out of each of them.  Not only am I using this post for Vegan MoFo - I'm also participating in the following today...
What I Ate Wednesday

Vegan MoFo ~ Quinoa Lentil Garam Masala

Vegan MoFo 2013 has begun!  The last few years I have signed up late and altho wasn't listed on the Blog Roll of participants decided to do it any way!  This year I made sure I signed up a month or so a head of time!  I just stopped by and didn't see my link listed but left a note in comments.  It's OK tho, because, I'm really just doing it for FUN and for my own reasons and will still participate regardless if my blog is on that list or not.  I give them TWO thumbs up for organizing all of it because I understand how hard it is to do something like that!  What great people they have behind the annual event!  A great way to spread the word!

You might be wondering what I have for my first Vegan MoFo 2013 Post above!  Well, it's a twist on Garam Masala.  You might usually find Garam Masala with Lentils and/or Rice.  Instead of Rice I used Quinoa AND Lentils!  I loved it...if I do say so myself!  The flavor was tasty and it was FUN to make!  I also used Wildtree's NEW Garam Masala Blend!  So here's the recipe I used for this dish...

1 C Sweet Onion
1 1/2 tea Wildtree Garam Masala Blend
2 Tomatoes
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Medium Eggplant (About A Pound)
2 to 3 C Cooked Quinoa
1 C Red Lentils, Cooked
2 C Zucchini (1 Medium)
Water, Salt as needed

Next time I think I will do it with less Quinoa and more Lentils.  Of course - you could use various rices, too!  Either way I do really like it!  And the BEST part...this is SO VERY Nutritious!

With the Quinoa you have: a Complete Protein, Fiber, Potassium, Calcium, B-6, Magnesium, Iron, etc.  By adding the Red Lentils in this dish you are getting: Potassium, Fiber, Protein, B-6, Iron, Magnesium, "Good" Carbs, Vitamin A, Folate, etc.  You know how I LOVE Garlic and eat it nearly everyday, well, it's good for: Vitamin C and is a great anti-inflammatory among other things!  Now is the perfect time for Zucchini where I live and those are high in...Protein, Vitamin A, Thiamin, Niacin, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese.  Eggplant is known for the following nutrition...Vitamin K, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber.  And, of course, Tomatoes...Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and Manganese.

Every once and a while I like to list these things as a spot check for myself but also to inform others of the nutritional values of whole foods - fruits and veggies - and that it IS possible to get the nutrients you need from them!  Sure often people ask about protein - that's EASY to explain, really - but now more and more people are asking about calcium, potassium, and B Vitamins, it seems.  Well, if you take the time, you can see it's just as easy!  I know prior to my Sciatica Discovery I was assuming I needed to step-up my potassium intake but I really think I am getting a good deal of it - eventho I don't regularly consume Bananas, for example.  Opal and I have discussed this a great deal as well!  Sometimes I (temporarily) forget which natural foods are high in some things - such as potassium. I'm going to try and mention this more often here on my blog.

This dish was POWER PACKED full of GOODNESS!  I had some stand-alone but am thinking about doing some pita pockets, wraps, and such with it this week, too! 

CORRECTION:  I am listed on Vegan MoFo 2013 HERE under the 2013 The United States Of Blogging!  YAY!  Thanks guys!