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

 

Green Smoothie Recipe: Banana, Lemon and Swiss Chard

I've made two food discoveries recently.

One of them, thanks to my roomie Lauren, is the glory of swiss chard.

The other may sound strange (it did to me at first), but it turns out bananas and lemons in a smoothie are a sweet, refreshing combo!

What I like about the following smoothie recipe I'm about to share is that it satiates a sweet tooth like mine by combining sweet fruit with swiss chard, which also happens have a sweet quality when eaten raw that I really enjoy.

So here it is. Have it for breakfast or a sweet snack. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do! :

Banana, Lemon and Swiss Chard Smoothie:
Take...
2 bananas
1/2 cup "milk" of your choice (hemp, almond, rice, oat, etc.)
1 heaping cup swiss chard leaves and stems
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 heaping teaspoon vanilla extract ( I use Simply Organic brand)
optional: flax oil and/or oats (to make a heavier meal to sustain you in the morning)
..and blend!

Shiitake Mushroom and Ramps "Pizza"

Another night of quality time and cooking! This time with one of my other besties, Shaliga. After a trip to the Union Square Greenmarket this past Saturday, I made a healthier version of pizza for us, using these babies in lieu of traditional pizza crust...

It's the return of Ezekiel tortillas!

But what did I buy at the farmer's market? I got some shiitake mushrooms, ramps, asparagus, and a thyme plant.  On the way home I bought the Ezekiel tortillas, some Brad's marinara pasta sauce, and with these ingredients, decided to make these...

Shiitake Mushrooms and Ramps "Pizza"

We had them with roasted asparagus with lemon juice and lemon zest, a greens salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, and some red wine that Shaliga brought over.

It was all delicioso!

So let me get to the recipe, which serves two! ...

Ingredients:

2 Ezekiel tortillas

1 cup Brad's Organic classic marinara sauce

About nine ramp bulbs and stems, minced

1 bunch ramp leaves, cut in half

2 cups shiitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped

About 2 tablespoons olive oil

sea salt to taste

nutritional yeast to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• In a small saucepan, simmer marinara sauce over very low heat
• In a pan, heat the oil in medium low/medium heat
• Toss in minced ramp bulbs and stems and stir occasionally for 1 to 2 minutes
• Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook for 1 minute
• Add the ramps and cook for 1 minute
• Season with salt to taste
• Remove from heat
• Put wax paper on baking pan
• With a ladle or spoon, put marinara on tortillas
• Put ramps and mushrooms on top
• Sprinkle on nutritional yeast to taste
• Put in the oven for 5 minutes
• Enjoy!

A mix of minced stems and bulbs...

Ramp leaves-which I honestly could've chopped a little more of...

Shaliga helping out and enjoying the smell of the ramps...

Mmmmmmmm...

Later in the evening, we had some raw Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream from Raw Ice Cream Company. Shaliga and I agreed, raw ice cream is amazing!! We love the stuff.

Yummmm!

My other fave flavor of theirs is their Cinnamon Vanilla. It's great with pie or cake...

It's sugar-free! 

We capped the night off with lots of giggles and a sleepover.

Speaking of which, it's time to call it a night!

Hope you'll try the recipe (and the ice cream!) and enjoy.

Till next time!

xo,

Ellie