Italian 'Sausage' with Onions and Peppers~Sauteed Fairy Tale Eggplants

One detail about this vegan's life is that I'm often out and about. Typical, I guess, for the New Yorker that I am. Especially on weeknights. I probably have evening plans more often on weeknights than say, a Saturday night. So unfortunately, that means I don't cook dinner for myself as often as I'd like to. This Monday, though, I had absolutely no plans, and was able to cook myself a meal. My friend Kate actually called later in the day and asked if she could stay over. She needed to be in the city early the next day, and it would've been easier for her to leave from my place than hers. I said of course! It was a pleasant impromptu sleepover. And she kept me company while I had my meal. I decided to go Italian-style for dinner. Here is what I made...

I sauteed some Italian Field Roast sausages with onions and peppers with some grapeseed oil. I've mentioned Field Roast sausages before. If you haven't tried them yet, you must! You will NOT miss meat eating this! Their Italian sausage is made with fresh eggplant, packed with fennel, red wine, garlic and sweet peppers.

I also sauteed some fairy tale eggplants with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and sprinkled some lemon juice on top. Very simple. Very Mediterranean.

 And I served that with a generous helping of mesclun greens with olive oil, lemon juice, and chopped fresh garlic. I realized after pouring that I didn't have to put olive oil in the salad. Woops!Sometimes just lemon juice does the trick. And it's healthier!

I was pretty hungry, so I definitely had seconds, maybe thirds? I made plenty, though, so I still had some leftover for the next day. Not that Kate didn't help me finish the food by picking on some off the pan and my plate here and there!

 

That's all for now. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Till next time.

 

xo,

Ellie

Vegetarian Dim Sum House~Tofu Scramble with Dandelion and Yukon Gold Potatoes~Raw Zucchini Pasta with Pesto

Vegetarian Dim Sum House
On Saturday afternoon, I headed to Chinatown to go to Vegetarian Dim Sum House with my friend Dylan. I hadn't had dim sum in years, so this was a real treat-especially since I got to do it vegan-style! Dylan said, "You're gonna love this place". And he was right-I did! I really enjoyed getting my Asian fix., like the old days. Here's what we ordered...

Rice Flour Rolls with White Fungus and Golden Mushrooms
Served with a sauce primarily made with soy sauce, this is a vegan version of one of my faves. I used to eat these rolls with beef or shrimp, but this time I got down with the mushrooms. Next time, I'm going to try their vegetarian mock shrimp roll...

Turnip Cakes
Another favorite! When I ordered these babies, the waitress asked if I wanted them steamed or fried. Usually I go healthier and ask for something steamed when given such an option-but I know this dish is better fried, and it's dim sum!-so, I went all out.

Steamed Watercress Dumplings

Something a little on the lighter side to balance out the heaviness of the other dishes-not to mention a source of greens in our meal! I love watercress. And these dumplings may look small, but they are quite a mouthful!

Vegetarian Mock Roast Pork Buns

I'll be honest. This was pretty good, but I probably won't order it again. It was a lot of bun, and not much inside. What little there was inside was composed of a sweet bean paste and cubes of mock roast pork.

Mango Pudding

I hadn't capped a dim sum meal off with a mango pudding dessert in a very long time, so I decided to go for it!

 

After our meal, we wandered Chinatown a bit. I hit up some of the fruit stands and bought one-dollar avocados (one dollar!), some lychees, and some durian to try for the first time. Durian is a tropical fruit notorious for its smell, but some people love it, though the word on the street is that it's an acquired taste. I'm going to bring it to work tomorrow as a snack and see how that goes.

 

They also had a cart where we got a bunch of  (vegan!) "cake balls" for a dollar, and a stand where they crack open coconuts so that people can drink them through a straw. I will definitely be back for that-and more dim sum! There are other things on the menu I plan on trying, for sure...

 

 

 

Sunday Cooking

On Sunday (today), I had a "me-day". I went to Mc Gorlick Park with a tea in hand and read, I stopped in the nearby, awesome farmer's market for some goodies, and I cooked. I made myself a brunch to start off the day. The meal was a tofu scramble, inspired by a Cinnamon Snail Facebook post. The owner of Cinnamon Snail made a scramble with most of these ingredients for his kid, and it seemed so healthy and delicious, I decided to make my own version of it.

 

Tofu Scramble with Dandelion and Fried Yukon Gold Potatoes with Garlic and Shallots



Ingredients:
1 box firm organic tofu
cubed yukon gold potatoes
dandelion leaves
1 shallot, sliced
3 garlic cloves, very coarsely chopped
tumeric
sea salt
black pepper
olive oil or grapeseed oil
(optional: cayenne pepper, or top with sriracha sauce for a kick!)

Instructions:
Fry the potatoes first for a few minutes. Allow to brown.
Take potatoes out of the pan and put aside.
While pan is still heated, put in shallots and garlic and allow to brown.
Stir the potatoes back in.
Add in the tofu. Crush with hands.
Stir in tumeric. Add sea salt and black pepper and cayenne pepper, if using.
Add the dandelion leaves. Allow to wilt a bit.

Et voila!

There you have it! A hearty meal, with some bitterness from the dandelion. By the way, did you know that eating dandelion leaves help clean the liver? It's true! And in Chinese medicine, the liver is the organ that governs female reproduction. Keeping the liver balanced helps with the function of our "woman parts"! Cool, huh?


Speaking of health, in the evening I made myself a raw dinner- a zucchini pasta with pesto and a side salad of mesclun greens. I used my handy dandy spiralizer-or, as my roommate calls it, the "jungle gym"...

I made a pesto sauce with basil (of course), lemon juice, garlic, sunflower seeds, almonds, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and some umeboshi plum vinegar and sea salt.

After dinner, I headed to my neighborhood bar, Matchless, and caught a fantastic comedy show. My friend Kate was in it and it was so good to see her!

 

And with that, I cap off my Sunday. Goodnight everyone! Have a great week!

xo,

Ellie

 

Hiking and Eating Upstate in Cold Spring, NY

 

This past Saturday I headed upstate for some hiking with my friends. It was a gorgeous day, and the trail was beautiful...

 

 

One really cool part of the day was when we came across a stream and found that we could drink the water. It was so pure and refreshing! 

 

 

We collected some to take back home with us.

 

 

After our hike, we rewarded ourselves with some hearty eats in the village of Cold Spring...

 

 

Michelle and I had a Portobello Mushroom Sandwich from Cold Spring Depot. It was served on ciabatta bread with lettuce, tomato, and red onions. We asked for it without cheese. It came with a potato salad, but Michelle got a side of fries instead, and I got a side salad. Not bad, Cold Spring Depot! Not bad.

 

 

After dinner, before catching our train back to the city, we went into Go-Go Pops for some popsicles...

 

 

This cool spot offers juices, vegan bubble tea, gourmet vegan chocolates, and some vegan pops-some of them are even sugar-free/agave sweetened! In the cooler months, they offer soups, some of which are vegan. The owner mentioned that soon they will be serving some red lentil, coconut soup. Mmmmmmm.

 

The owner said the Green Fairie pop (aka The Puck) was really fantastic. She wasn't kidding! This flavor is made with avocado, kiwi, pineapple juice, coconut milk, agave nectar, and guar. It was deliciously fruity and creamy, with some nice crunch from the kiwi. As my non-vegan friend Shaliga said, " Wow, it's nice and creamy even though it doesn't have any dairy!". 

 

 

It was a nice treat to enjoy while waiting for the train, and a great way to cap off the day.

 

Till next time!

xo,

Ellie

 

 

Heirloom Tomato Soup~Black Eyed Pea Hummus with Cilantro~Sauteed Red Wine Maitake Mushrooms

Hey there! So... yes. I have been a naughty blogger. I have been meaning to put up several posts, and I am so behind! So let me try to compensate, and start with the here and now. This vegan's life has been involving going to farmer's markets (particularly the one near Mc Carren Park on Saturdays), trying to eat healthier, and throwing more raw foods into the mix.

Can I just say how much I am loving going to farmer's markets?! And this past summer, as well as now, has been a great time to go! There is a great variety of plant-based goodies available for your picking. You can get corn on the cob, still in their husks, to "steam" in the oven, low at 325, for 30 minutes. Or you could slice up some kabocha squash with shallots or onions and roast 'em up! Or enjoy a peach smoothie, by adding some banana and almonds.

Here are some things  I made recently (besides the examples I just gave) that I've really enjoyed. I've  given up on recording measurements. Well, for the moment. at least. I tend to eyeball portions of spices, etc. that I use. I can only advise that you use your own judgement and taste for figuring out portions, and give you my list of ingredients. I hope that some of these dishes will inspire you to enjoy lots of veggie-goodies yourself!

Raw Heirloom Tomato Soup

 

I am loving on heirloom tomatoes at the moment! They are so juicy and sweet! And they are available in abundance right NOW. If you can't get your hands on heirloom tomatoes, I'm sure regular tomatoes would be delicious, too. This soup is super simple to make. Just take:
1 medium/large heirloom tomato
1/2 a cucumber, peeled
sea salt
oregano

and blend!
It's garden-licious (I know, so corny, but I had to say it) ! And it's also really frothy. Mmmm.


Black-Eyed Pea Hummus with Cilantro

 

I generally find black-eyed peas on the bland side, but spiced up in this hummus, it was a treat! And I love cilantro! Did you know that cilantro helps with detoxification of heavy metals in the body? Yup! I used a lot of cilantro in this dish, and it was not overpowering at all. The herb blends up really nicely, so feel free!

 

Ingredients:

1 can Eden brand black-eyed peas

1 heaping spoonful or more of tahini

umeboshi plum vinegar

lemon juice

2-3 raw garlic cloves

cilantro

paprika

cumin

sea salt

 

 

 

I enjoyed my hummus at work this week with some raw slices of zucchini and peeled cucumber. I love raw zucchini, and when I saw them at the market, I snagged them up! I'm also digging cucumbers lately. They are so refreshing!

 

 

Sauteed Red Wine Maitake Mushrooms

 

Admittedly they are on the pricy side, but I love getting my mushroom fix from the market! This week I went with some maitake mushrooms (aka "hen of the woods"). I took some leftover red wine (a full-bodied one), some tamari (you can also use shoyu aka soy sauce) and sauteed. It was so easy! I placed the mushrooms over a bed of steamed kale.

 

 

To complete the meal, I had the mushrooms and kale with some oven fries, using Purple Viking Potatoes. They are a little sweet, and delicious. I threw in some rosemary and garlic cloves, as well as olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

 

 

And that's it! Earlier today I went on a hike upstate-so I will update again very soon about that!

xo,

Ellie