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Posts Tagged ‘rice’

Chipotle Lime Salad Bowl

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , on August 3, 2012| 1 Comment »

Happy Friday, Everyone!

I wish I could say I was looking forward to this weekend but I am working Saturday and Sunday so I’m not going to get too much of a break! I will be getting to try a new vegan restaurant with my book club, though, which I’m super excited for. Our book this month was Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It is a really well-written fantasy novel. But not like campy fantasy with dragons.  Not that I don’t love a campy fantasy  novel every now and than! This just isn’t one of them. Anyway, now that I have given hands down one of the most vague reviews ever, go check it out.

Know what else you should check out? This music video:

I’ve been meaning to post this video forever because I cannot get enough of this song but it just hasn’t happened. So here! Check them out!

And last but not least, you should not only check out this salad, you should definitely make it! The ingredients and steps sound complicated but you can take short-cuts. For instance, instead of dried beans you could used canned  and in place of corn on the cob, you could used canned or frozen. Or, you can make all the components (rice, black beans, and corn-on-the-cob) a head of time so that when you are ready to make the salad, everything comes together quickly.

Chipotle Lime Salad Bowl
adapted from Tasty Kitchen; measurements based off RFFMBT pyramid
serves 4

1 c. uncooked brown basmati rice
1 c. dried black beans (if you use canned, you want 2 cups)
4 c. romaine lettuce (3-4 hearts of romaine)
4 ears of corn (or 2 cups of frozen)
2 c. cherry tomatoes
2 avocadoes
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder

If you are using dried black beans, cover the beans with hot water, put a cover on the pot and bring to boil. Let boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour. Do not remove the cover.

Once you have let the beans ‘fast soak’, drain and refill with water and let the beans simmer for about 1  hour and 45 minutes. Drain remaining liquid and set beans aside.

While the beans are cooking, start the basmati rice.  Follow the packages instructions.

While the rice and beans are cooking, start the corn on the cob. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Place the corn on the cob in the water and boil for about 8 minutes. Let cool.

Once your corn is cool, remove the corn from the cob. Place your corn and 2 cups of beans in a hot skillet with your cumin and chili powder. Cook until warm and well mixed.

To assemble your salad, combine lettuce, rice, beans and corn mixture, tomatoes and avocado and drizzle with dressing.

If you are bringing this for lunch or on the go, chop up 1 cup of lettuce, 1/2 c. tomatoes and 1/4 avocado in one container. Place 1/2 cup of rice and 1 cup of the bean/corn mixture into a smaller, separate container so you can warm it before eating.

Dressing
from CDKitchen.com

  • 1/2 c olive oil
  • 1/4 c fresh lime juice
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 TBSP minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 1/4 c roughlychopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all the ingredients together. Can be used right away but tastes best when allowed to sit over night.

Like I said, it’s a bit of a process. I made the rice, beans, corn and dressing on Sunday afternoon. Then, the night before work, I place all my veggies together and all my warm ingredients together. It comes together pretty quickly! It’s a super yummy and filling salad so definitely give it a try!

I also made this by ditching the dressing, mixing the rice and beans with chipotle salsa (found in the mexican food section of your grocery store, next to the chipotle in adobo sauce) instead of the cumin and chili powder, and using the juice of half a lime for my dressing and it was delicious! Since you already have a healthy fat on the salad (avocado), it gets rid of all the olive oil in the dressing but keeps the chipotle lime flavor. Either way, this salad is delicious!

ok, everyone, I hope you have a great weekend!

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Cashew Ginger Rice Bowl

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I know that there has been a lot of groaning about the weather on this blog lately due to the fact that I seriously dislike the summer. It’s all hot and sticky and I’ll all sweaty and cranky. It’s not my favorite season.

But, I will grudgingly admit, summer has its perks. Ok, maybe just one- fresh produce! I am loving going to the farmers markets on the weekend and getting fresh fruits and vegetables. Even the grocery stores have more selection. I went into Whole Foods this weekend and the produce area was packed. It was like a Produce Utopia! I had to fight to stick to my very specific grocery list  and not buy one of everything, which was really really hard!

With that said, I’ve been eating a ton of salads. It’s so easy just to cut up a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies and dump them in a bowl. This means I’ve been seriously slacking in the hot meals area lately. The closest I come to my stove is to make a big pot of grains to get me through the week and then I avoid it like the plague.

But last week, my new favorite blog, Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth, posted this recipe and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I don’t know why- It’s just a stir-fry. But I think its close enough to my “cut-produce-up-and-dump-in-bowl” theory that I was convinced I needed to make it.

And I’m SO glad I did. It is insanely delicious.

Cashew Ginger Rice Bowl
from Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth

 Serves 1

1/2 cup cooked brown rice ( I used brown Basmati Rice)
1/2 cup unshelled edamame
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced (approximately 1/2 of the pepper)
1/2 cup onion, diced (approximately 1/2 of the onion)
1/2 cup carrots, shredded (approximately 1 large carrot)
1/2 cup spinach
1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth (I use Pacific)
2 Tbsp chopped cashews
1 tsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

Cook brown rice according to package instructions.

In a medium pan, combine the vegetable broth, soy sauce, and ginger together over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, carrots, and the spinach. Cook the vegetables until they absorb most of the cooking liquid and become tender. Add in the unshelled edamame and stir until cooked. Add the cooked brown rice and gently mix into the vegetables. Top with chopped cashews. Serve hot.

I can’t tell you why I love this recipe so much. Maybe it’s simply because I was craving something hot. More likely though, this recipe just has the right mix of veggies. All the health articles I read say you should eat lots of different colored produce so your getting all sorts of nutrients and this recipe definitely has color!

And if you haven’t checked out RFFMBT, yet, definitely do so. Catherine has a great story to share, yummy recipes and a revamped food pyramid that I love. She also has a section that shows what you should be eating for each meal and what 1 portion equals. For instance, one portion of quinoa is not a bowl full- it’s actually only 1/2 cup. Definitely good to know!

And make sure to keep checking in this week. I was very productive this weekend and managed to actually make more then one thing! Yeah for regular posts on WV again =)

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Mushroom Gravy Rice Bowl

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , on March 19, 2012| 2 Comments »

Greetings from vacation!

Before I start, I just want to thank everyone who checked out Wicked Vegan for my St. Patty’s Day posts. I had a record high number of hits Thurs, Fri and Saturday, tripling what I normally get in an average day. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and got to make some yummy St. Patty’s day food!!

I’ve left the city behind for a week and have gone up north with some friends to the mountains. I had expected loads of snow and cold weather and lots of comfort food but, temperature-wise,  it’s a record high up here and yesterday I went and sat in the sun for 2 hours. Of course, in true me fashion, everyone was in shorts and sandals and I was in boots, tights and a skirt. But, in my defense, I had packed for the mountains! Lots of hoodies and jeans and warm boots. Plus, my skirt had a floral print and my boots were suede ankle boots. It was practically spring gear!

Anyway, this weather is making me really glad I didn’t spend a boatload on a plane ticket to FL. It’s the perfect weather for shopping (which I’ve done a lot of!), not so good weather for holing up and scrapbooking/crafting (which was my plan).

It’s also throwing of my very rough idea of what I was going to be making food-wise. Plus, I’m in a strangers kitchen, which isn’t stocked like mine, so recipes this week may be scarce. I’ve already gone to the local smokehouse once and I’m contemplating going again tonight (they have a super delicious vegan burger with homemade hummus and BBQ sauce. I’ve already bought a jar to take home with me…).

I did manage to whip together this dish the first night I was here, when it was still cold, before I went grocery shopping and before I discovered where the smokehouse was so at least you’ll get one recipe this week!

Mushroom Gravy Rice Bowl
adapted from Oh She Glows

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup uncooked brown basmati rice
  • 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped sweet onion (1 medium onion)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 cups sliced crimini mushrooms (300 grams)
  • 1.5 tbsp minced fresh rosemary*
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1.5 tbsp low-sodium tamari (soy sauce)
  • 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 & 1/4 cup vegetable broth
  • Freshly ground black pepper & kosher salt, to taste

Cook your basmati rice according to the directions on the package (should take about 15-20 minutes).

While your rice is cooking, heat olive oil in a medium size skillet. Add the onions and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms in and cook for 12 minutes. Now add the rosemary, nutritional yeast and tamari/soy sauce. Stir everything in and let that cook for one or two minutes.

While that is cooking, mix together your veggie broth and cornstarch and whisk with a fork or small whisk until there are no clumps. Add to the mushroom mixture, stir and let cook for another 5 minutes or so until the mixture has thickened to a gravy consistency.

Spoon your finished rice into a bowl and top with gravy mixture.

*My only complaint about this recipe was that the needles of rosemary really took away from the gravy consistency. I would suggest running a knife through the needles before adding them to the recipes or grinding them up. You could leave them out all together but they add a great flavor to the gravy.

This recipe originally called for Kale and millet instead of rice but my super market didn’t have millet and I forgot my kale in my late night, night-before-I-leave packing. I imagine kale would be a great addition to this and will definitely add it next time I make it.

Even without it though, the mushroom gravy was delicious and hunkering down on the couch with a bowl full while watching movies was the perfect start to my vacation.

Now…off to finish scrapbooking Day 1 of my Italy trip I took 2 years ago. I’ve managed to buy an excessive amount of condiments while here and even buy a purple polka dotted paring knife at an outlet kitchen store but I haven’t even made a dent in my scrapbook, which is why I’m here! Let’s see if I can remedy that today.

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Hot Veggie Salad

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , on January 17, 2012| 1 Comment »

Here’s the thing: Blogging can be hard!

Sometimes, it’s late Sunday night and you should be posting recipes but you are sitting in the Cheesecake Factory shoveling the 800th guacamole-ladened tortilla chip in your mouth with a friend under the pretense of “planning your week”. Ok, whatever…do we get free refills on the guac?

Other times, it’s a freezing cold Thursday and you should be posting recipes but you are at a friends soaking in the warmth of their apartment under the pretense of lending an ear to their woes. “oh man, that’s awful! Why don’t I just stay here a few more hours to comfort you…”

Or sometimes, I just plain forget! I take pictures of all my meals, I plan out my week for when and what I’m going to post, and then I just forget. It’s kinda pathetic.

But this recipe is amazing for lunches, so if you can pull yourself away from restaurant eating/socializing/whoring-yourself-out-for warmth, I would seriously recommend preparing a batch of this to be consumed throughout the week. It comes together pretty fast.

Hot Veggy Salad
from Healthful Pursuit

makes 2 cups (I tripled the recipe so I could have it for lunch during the week. )

Ingredients

Rice

  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1/2 cup brown basmati rice, uncooked (the original recipe called for wild rice but I just used what I already had)

Cayenne roasted veggies

  • 1 yellow pepper, diced small
  • 2 carrots, diced small
  • 10 asparagus spears, diced small
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • pinch cayenne (the cayenne is SO subtle. If you want spice, you definitely will need more)

Maple dressing

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp unpasteurized apple vinegar
  • 1 tbsp gluten-free mustard
  • 1/4 tsp Herbamare or salt
  • dash freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (if you are making this ahead of time like I did, keep the sunflowers to the side and add them right before you eat so they don’t get soggy)

Directions

  1. Prepare the Basmati rice (or your rice of choice) according to the package
  2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F.
  3. Place pepper, carrot, and asparagus in a large bowl. Stir in the coconut oil until all the veggies are coated. Your veggies will not taste like coconut. Sprinkle with cinnamon and cayenne. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until veggies are tender. (Alternatively, healthfulpursuits.com says you can do this on a stove top, cooking on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, but I like the taste of baked-in-the-oven veggies more, I don’t know why…)
  4. Remove veggies from oven and place in the bowl with rice.
  5. In a small dish combine olive oil, maple syrup, vinegar and mustard, salt and pepper. If you are making this head of time, store separately from the salad. I used an old, glass olive oil jar. It worked perfectly!
  6. When ready to eat, microwave the rice and veggies for a few minutes. Pour the dressing over the salad, stir, and top with sunflower seeds.

Aren’t the colors super pretty in this salad?! I was super excited for this recipe because I wanted something loaded with vegetables that wasn’t your standard romaine lettuce/carrots/dressing salad. That gets so boring after a while. Plus, its warmth and color helps fight off the winter blues, which has definitely hit Boston- finally. But all the colors in the world won’t motivate me to eat this if it isn’t easy and yummy, which it was. I was able to package this up into servings for lunch and just grab it in the morning! Love how easy that is!

Reused Olive Oil bottle works excellent for home made dressings!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go make a few phone calls to see who with heat I can bribe with cookies in exchange for letting me crash on their futons/couches. It’s an icebox in my house!

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