Buddah Bowl, Tostados with Spanish Rice, and Hippie Loaf with Sides

I started cooking again on Friday night.   We had one of our all-time favories Buddah Bowl - a classic greens, beans, rice, with tofu and a cheesy vegan sauce.   I will post the recipe for this later - I want to do a post on the proper way to prepare tofu and I will include the recipe for Buddah Bowl with that post.  I added some extra things to it that I don't usually add;  I had a lot of leftover red and orange bell peppers along with some thinly sliced zucchini from my Living Lasagna that I didn't want to waste so I added them in when I was cooking the kale.



For lunch on Saturday I made bean tostados.   I found some corn tostados at Kroger and they were really cheap.  We really liked them so I will be using them a lot more.   My husband wanted some "Cheddar Cheese" so I bought some Daiya to toss on the top.   I don't usually use the commercial vegan cheeses because they are expensive and high in fat but I got it for him.  If you like the commercial cheeses, Daiya is definitely the best choice and Kroger (at least mine) is carrying it now.

Bean Tostados with Spanish Rice

Refried Beans

1/2  onion chopped (reserve the other 1/2 for salsa)

2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch of ground cayenne pepper

1 small jalepeno pepper (optional)

Add about 1/4 cup water to a saute pan and bring to a boil.  Add the salt and onions and pan fry until onions are translucent.   Keep a small amount of water beside the pan and add little splashes as need to keep it from drying out.     While this is cooking, put the beans in a bowl and mash with a fork (or process in a food processor) until almost all the beans are smashed - it doesn't have to be a paste - you can also do this with a potato masher.  

Add beans and all remaining ingredients to the pan.   Continue cooking until heated through and smooth.   Add splashes of water as needed to keep it from drying out.  

Quick Salsa

1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles

3 tablespoons of cilantro

1/2 onion, chopped finely

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and let stand a few minutes before serving.

Spread the refried beans on the tostado shells followed by some cheese if you like.   You can add black olives or anything you like.  I served it with chopped romaine lettuce and spooned some salsa over the top.

Spanish Rice

1 cup cooked brown rice

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

Add about 1/4 cup of water to the pan and add taco seasoning.   Add brown rice and cook, stirring constantly until the water is all gone.  Serve with salsa ladled over the top.

This was a very delicious lunch and I had it ready in less than 30 minutes

Hippie Loaf

This is my favorite gluten free loaf and I got the recipe from Happy Herbivore's blog here:

http://www.happyherbivore.com/recipe/hippie-loaf-gluten-free/

I served it with mashed cauliflower/potaoes with almond milk gravy and asparagus.

Quick Almond Milk

1/4 cup of almonds

1 cup water

pinch of salt

Blend together in food processor until smooth.

Mashed Cauliflower Potatoes

These are a great way to get coniferous veggies and they are delicious.

1 head of cauliflower

3 or 4 potatoes

1/8 cup of nutritional yeast

1/4 - 1/2 cup of almond milk

salt to taste

Peel the potatoes and cut the cauliflower into small pieces.   Add to pot and boil for 15-20 minutes until tender.   Drain and mash just like you normally mash potatoes until smooth.   Add in almond milk until desired consistency.   Add nutritional yeast and stir to mix in completely.  (the nutritional yeast gives it a buttery taste).

Almond Milk Gravy

1/8 cup raw almonds

1 cup water

1/2 onion, minced
2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon sherry (optional)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons corn starch
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium-sized non-stick saucepan, saute the onion in water until translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add the vegetable broth, garlic powder, herbs, nutritional yeast, sherry, and soy sauce.  In a blender, add the almonds and water and process until smooth. Add the cornstarch and continue blending until all is smooth.  Add the almond milk mixture  to the saucepan and stir well.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, add water if needed to thin it out.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.