Vegan Mofo Day 5 Cookbook Inspired - Rice & beetroot salad

I did a whole series of cookbooks for 2014 vegan mofo which you can check out here.
So today's inspiration doesn't really come from a cookbook (as set out on the mofo list), but instead from a retreat I stayed at last year where it was lovely to have someone else cooking for me!

To be honest, I didn't exactly enjoy all the meals as I felt they were too heavy and so loaded with oil and somewhat lacking in flavour. However I used the idea behind a salad that was served to create this dish myself. 
I'm pleased to report I've since found another retreat that gladly caters to oil free requests and it's simply divine to stay there!

RICE & BEETROOT SALAD

This rice and beetroot salad is so delicious, and with cooked rice already on hand, it's super quick and easy too.

You'll need:

                 
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 carrot
3 cooked baby beets
1/2 small red onion
1/2 cup sprouted legumes (these are available in most stores, if you don't want to sprout your own)

Dressing:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 crushed garlic clove
few cracks black pepper

Grate the carrot, chop the onion and beets. 

Stir all ingredients  together and you're done.

Quick Dinner - Salsa Rice with Lemony-Garlic Asparagus & Mushrooms

There are very few recipes I make these days that inspire me enough to blog post! The truth is we are eating so simple and repeat many of our favourite meals over and over. We don't get bored of them and they are always super delicious. 
This recipe is one that I have been making for many years, but recently seeing all the beautiful Australian asparagus I just KNEW it was time to finally post this (the pictures were taken 2 years ago)! As much as possible we try to buy only Australian produce which means that our time line for eating asparagus is rather short! So for those readers who are in Australia make the most of this one, and for those in other countries - be sure to let me know how often you get to enjoy asparagus! 

This meal is a super quick one. It's so easy that no matter how busy your day has been or what time of night you get home, its totally do-able! 
We often have cooked grains in our fridge, and there's rarely a week that goes by when we don't have a big tub of cooked brown rice in there. 
It's a great time-saver to have whole grains precooked. 

Growing up my father loved tinned asparagus! Personally, I never saw the appeal so I always thought I didn't like asparagus. But as a "grown-up" I decided to re-try it and discovered that having it fresh really tastes like a whole different vegetable! I have grown to not only enjoy, but totally LOVE fresh asparagus (and I still don't see the appeal in the tinned stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!).

I am showing serving size for one person, however it's really easy to make this for as many as needs be. The flavours work so well together and it feels like a real treat. In fact, it's not too far off what we seem to be served at functions!

SALSA RICE WITH LEMONY-GARLIC ASPARAGUS & MUSHROOMS

You'll need:
1 cup precooked brown rice
2 Tablespoons salsa (your choice store bought or homemade)
1 bunch of asparagus (depending on the size you may only use half)
2 large field mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
juice of 1/2 lemon

Slice the mushrooms into long thin strips. Remove the woody ends from the asparagus. 

Over high heat in a non-stick pan add the asparagus spears, the mushrooms, crushed garlic and lemon juice. Allow to saute, occasionally stirring gently, until the asparagus is just tender and the mushrooms are slightly wilted.  

While the asparagus mixture cooks, warm the rice either in a microwave or on the stove top. Once warmed, stir through the salsa.

 Serve!

Yes it really is that simple to have a delicious and nutritious meal in minutes!!!

Question of the day:
What time of year do you get locally grown asparagus? 
Do you like the taste of asparagus either fresh or tinned?

Slow-cooked Mexican Stew

Monday nights are slow-cooker night in our home.
I must admit that for the first few years of owning a slow cooker I used it for nothing other than soup.
I am discovering that there is so much more than just soup that can be done in the slow cooker. I regularly make dried beans and love that on the high function it takes only 2-3 hours to cook them from scratch, even without pre-soaking if I haven't had the chance to do that.

Here's a way I make a complete meal that isn't soup:

SLOW-COOKED MEXICAN STEW

You'll need:
1 cup brown rice
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 onion
1 green capsicum
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 can tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon taco spice mix of choice

Chop all the vegetables and drain the beans.
Add all ingredients to slow cooker. 
If you have the option, saute the onion & garlic first. If not, don't worry because it will still work out and be delicious.
Cook on slow for 6-8 hours.

Serve.

The rice will fluff up to be lovely & thick. It will absorb all the liquid so that this isn't the consistency of a soup.

Meatless Monday - Raisins

Welcome to another edition of Meatless Monday!

Today we're cooking with raisins.

I resisted the urge to do yet another cookie - as much as I love raisins in cookies I decided to get a bit more adventurous than that!

You see, all this hot weather reminds me of the need for ice-cream! And well, obviously there isn't much range in a regular ice-cream store that appeals to me. So when I need that creamy rum and raisin flavour that I'm so fond of, this does the trick instead! Afterall, I'm not really a big ice-cream eater!

So, today I bring you:

Rum & Raisin Rice Porridge

To serve one you'll need:

1 cup pre-cooked brown rice
3/4 cup plant milk (or half water, depending how creamy you like it)
1/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon rum essence (or vanilla essence)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until heated through.
Using a stick blender, blend til porridge is desired consistency.
Serve :-)



Option: Make a big batch and store leftovers in the fridge if you'd rather this cold. 

Question of the day?
Is there any particular flavour combo that you enjoy..... but eat it in a different way than how it is usually prepared?

Veggie & Rice Bake with Cauli-Sauce Topping

This bake has a lot of layers & takes a bit of time, but its not at all hard.
In fact once the layers are put together it simply bakes in the oven.
We have had this many times and its always a winner. I love how big the meal is so that makes plenty of leftovers!
Its incredibly tasty & although it's just 'one' dish, it really is a complete meal by itself.
I especially love the cauli-sauce topping because I can't get my husband to eat cauliflower unless its hidden like this!!!! ;-)

VEGGIE & RICE BAKE WITH CAULI-SAUCE TOPPING

Makes one large baking tray - Serves 6-8
You'll need:
Bottom layer: 
2-3 cups cooked brown rice
1 can lentils, salt free
1 onion
1 cup mushrooms
1 can tomatoes

1/2 green capsicum
1 can corn
1 carrot

Cauli sauce:
1/2 head of cauliflower
2 Tablespoons tahini
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoons minced garlic

Black pepper

Spread the pre-cooked brown rice into the bottom of a large baking dish.
Drain the lentils and spread the evenly over the rice, followed by the chopped onion & the chopped mushrooms. (Mushrooms shown only on one side of the bake here to keep hubby happy!)
Pour the canned tomatoes over the onions and mushrooms. Spread so evenly distributed.
 

I find the putting the tomato in the middle helps to keep the bake moist while its cooking instead of just on the top.







Chop the carrot & capsicum. Spread them over the tomatoes along with the drained corn.

To make the cauli-sauce:
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend til smooth and thick.

 












Pour the sauce over the bake and spread til all the veggies are completely covered.

 Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper.

Bake in a preheated 200C oven for  45-60 minutes. The vegetables will be tender but not completely soft after 45 minutes, they will be soft by 60 minutes - so the choice is yours! Please note, these times are for my oven and ovens can vary! Baking for 60 minutes will definitely brown your cauli-sauce but not to the point of being burnt. If you are worried about the browning you can cover the dish with foil.

Shown here baked for 1 hour.

So I must admit that this is not the 'prettiest' food to photograph! The pictures don't do it justice of how yummy it is! 
Definitely a home-style meal & not for photographic purposes!!!!

Submitted for Healthy Vegan Friday.
You can add your recipe at these blogs:
carrie on vegan

veggie nook

greenthickies 

Precooked Grains

 

I previously shared with you my tip about how handy it is to keep a snack box in the freezer.

Now I'm here to share another tip that is just as easy & just as wonderfully helpful.

Precooked grains

I often cook up a variety of grains on the weekend and store them in containers in the fridge. They are great additions to main meals or salads, breakfast or even to make desserts like rice pudding.

I can't recommend highly enough getting a rice cooker if you don't already have one. We got a cheap one and it works fantastic - switch it on and leave it to do all the hard work - no worries about the time or a pot bubbling over! :-)

They really do cook more than just rice!

Just keep in mind that cooked grains will only last about 3-5 days, so make sure that if you won't use them in that time then you freeze them instead.

Here's some recipes that you can use precooked grains for:

Barley choc smoothie

Leafy couscous salad 

Chickpea, rice and sweet potato stew 

Cheezey brown rice 

Tropical brown rice breakfast 

Pasta bake 

 And can't forget yesterdays recipe of Stuffed capsicums.

Chickpea, rice & sweet potato stew

My husband doesn't like eating rice. 
I missed eating rice.
So this dish came about.
He likes rice when its served actually "in" part of the meal - just not separately.

I have my rice fix. He doesn't eat plain rice. Everyone happy :-)

I love how simple this meal is & yet its wonderfully satisfying. It is also quick to make which means I can get it done no matter what the day has delivered.
It reheats well & since we're a home of leftover lovers it suits us quite nicely.
It could easily be doubled if you need extra.

In a large stock pot combine:

1 chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 2 squashed garlic cloves)
1 chopped green capsicum
1 chopped carrot
1 corn cob, kernels removed
1 tin drained chickpeas
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 chopped medium size sweet potato
800g tin diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon each: thyme, paprika, marjoram, sage

Cover, bring to the boil & then simmer for 15 minutes until the sweet potato is tender but not fallen apart.

Yep, its really that easy!

Serves 6

In My Kitchen June

Welcome to In My Kitchen for June.
This was a super easy month for me to find items to take pictures of because I got lots of birthday goodies at the end of last month that made it into my kitchen! 

We welcomed a new napkin holder into our home at the end of May. I love how slim this one is. It doesn't take up too much room on our tiny little dinner table, and it holds napkins quite neatly.

I was hugely excited when I was given this ultra cute kitty mug for my birthday from one of my friends! I love kitty's - especially grey kitty's. It is now officially my favourite coffee mug. Its the perfect size for a coffee too :-)

My husband got me this veggie chop for my birthday! I spend hours chopping vegetables each week so this came with great relief for me! It took me a bit of time and experimenting to work out how to use it but now, already it gets a great work out.

This rocket blender was given to me on Mother's Day. Prior to our blender breaking.....

Its such a practical size for making 'yogurts' or sauces/dressings. And the cups that are used to blend also come with lids so the item can be stored in the fridge. Not to mention that all the bits are dishwasher safe :-)

 

Our oven trays were black.... So now we have nice new pink ones. Thanks to a clearance at Woolworths! I swear cookies taste so much better being baked on pink trays ;-)

Yay for aprons! I was only thinking for my last post that I don't have any aprons! A pink one from my hubby to match the pink trays! The purple one came all the way from America! I'm tickled 'pink' to think that my friend would know how much I enjoy cooking & send me an apron! Its so very very beautiful - I wonder if I could wear it as a dress instead ;-)

I mentioned in a previous month that we had got a new rice cooker. So this month I'm showing you just how well it worked! I'm soooooooooo happy with it. It doesn't bubble over (like my previous one did) and it cooks rice so perfect. It cooks other grains too which I find really handy. I loved the way it cooks brown rice. Not gluggy or mushy and not still hard, but just perfectly done! :-)

Perfectly cooked brown rice

And last but not least - we got this blender to replace our verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry old one! I'm yet to use it. We were deciding if we needed a full size blender not with the rocket blender - however last weekend I missed green smoothies too much to live without a blender!

What's new in your kitchen this month?

Link your kitchen post up to the Fig Jam & Lime Cordial blog.

WIAW and a Product Review

Happy Wednesday to all my readers :-)

Today I'm not only going to share with you What-I-Ate but also one of my favourite products.

Recipe links:
Lunch - Cabbage Shiitake Stirfry
Dessert - Chocolate ice cream

Now let me share with you a product that I totally LOVE:

Lowan Rice Porridge

This is such a great alternative to oats for breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I do love my oats but sometimes I like something different. 

This porridge is just brown rice (in flake form) with dried fruit. No added nasties. 

Its cooks really quickly and tastes delicious (even when cooked just with water).  It totally ticks all the boxes - low fat, high fibre, low salt, no additives, and made in Australia by an Australian owned company. Its also gluten free for those who need that option. Its readily available in the health food section of grocery stores & is very reasonably priced.

Put it in your grocery trolley this week and I promise you won't be disappointed! :-)

I first tried this porridge when I initially went vegan. I was won over straight away, however I did used to put quite a bit of brown sugar on it - which I realise now was my massive sweet tooth that I previously had! I still LOVE this porridge but I am now pleased to say that I am perfectly satisfied with the sweetness coming just from the dried fruit!

Isn't it amazing how our taste buds can change over time?!?

 

Question of the day: 

Have you noticed that your taste buds have changed over time? 

Did you do something to help that process or did it just occur naturally?

Basic Baked Risotto

This is a great fall back recipe to have on file.
Its so much easier than standing over a stove and stirring traditional risotto recipes! 
It makes a big batch and you can keep it in the fridge and just add different flavours to create a few different meals. It's also really tasty by itself served as a side. 


You'll need:
2 cups arborio rice
5 cups boiling water
2 teaspoons vegetable stock powder
1 teaspoon sage
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
black pepper (optional)
dried parsley (to serve)

Put all ingredients in an oven proof dish. Stir well. 
Cover with a lid and bake at 200C for 30 minutes.

Great flavour combinations to try:

• spinach and mushroom

• asparagus and green bean

• pumpkin and chickpea

 

To add the various flavours simply add ingredients of choice to a frying pan and dry fry for 5-ish minutes. Add the rice and another 1/2 cup water.
Stir for 5 minutes until all ingredients are warmed through.
Serve :-)

WIAW - Back to school.....

I hate school.
I always have.
I hated it when I was a child & now that I have my own child, I still hate it!!!
So it was with a very sad face that I set my alarm last night to make sure that I woke up in time to do the regular chaotic prepartion that is a regular school morning.

However, I am not here to complain about the day that was inevitably going to come regardless of how much I dreaded it!
I'm here to share with you What-I-Ate-Wednesday!
Thanks again to Jenn from the peasandcrayons blog for being such a fantastic host! Add your link to join in the fun :-)

Breakfast was polenta porridge with berries:

My daughter informed me this morning that this was her "favourite breakfast". I was quite surprised by this remark because I'm sure I haven't been told that before! Not to mention that it isn't particularly a regular in our home. Then again, kids say anything is their favourite if they are enjoying it at the time. Isn't that right?!?!? ;-)
 
Of course there's always my morning coffee (though I don't usually take a picture of it!).
It tastes better out of a Jemima Puddle Duck mug you know ;-)



Lunch was a wrap with leftover lentil bolognese & lettuce.....

.......accompanied by a brown rice salad with spinach.

 My husband often jokes about my 2nd, 3rd or 4th lunch! ;-) Today there was only 2 lunches!

In the afternoon I put my juicer to work on celery, kale & apples.

For dinner I had spaghetti with aduki bean & veg bolognese..... and totally forgot to take a picture! ~shame~ 
I even had the camera sitting right next to my cooking area!


And last but definitely not least was the delicious dessert that I shared with my hubbie - waffles with chocolate banana soft serve!

Proof that even days that start out bad can have a good ending!

WIAW - Last week of the holidays

Well last week of holidays for all the lucky kiddies who get 6 weeks off....... but some of us are already back to work ;-)
Do you ever look back & think about how many things you took for granted as a child???

I prepared the slow cooker to do its job for me before I left for work this morning:

Breakfast was soaked oats topped with applesauce, flax seeds, raisins & cinnamon.

Instead of my standard lunch of salad at work I enjoyed some leftover kale & eggplant on brown rice. The picture truly doesn't do justice for how good this tasted!

Here's my snacks for the afternoon. I've been in love with nectarines this season! They seem so much more juicy and tasty compared to last year!

I was very grateful for the slow cooker when I had a 1 hour 50 minute drive home. To be greeted with this delicious soup was just divine! :-)
I did follow this lovely meal with a waffle and banana ice-cream, but I ate it too quick to get a pic in ;-)

You can add your post to what i ate wednesday by checking out the peas and crayons blog!