Thursday, October 31, 2013

Halloween Bean and Tempeh Saute, Roasted Mixed Sweet Potato, Corn-off-the-Cob (No Added Fat)


Sunday, October 27, 2013

Broccolini-Carrot Saute, Sweet Potato,Tricolor Quinoa w Greens (No Added Fat)


Friday, October 25, 2013

Curried Bean Sprouts, Stuffed Paratha for myself


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Sesame Garlic Tempeh with Ginger and Bell Pepper over Spaghetti Squash (No Added Fat)


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Tempeh and Okra with Jerk Seasoning, Corn and Purple Pepper, Tomato with Cumin and Black Salt (No Added Fat)


Monday, October 21, 2013

Leftover Pasta with Hot Sauce, Vegan Sausage for myself


Sunday, October 20, 2013

Lentil Soup with Potato and Greens, Tricolor Quinoa (No Added Fat)


Saturday, October 19, 2013

Leftover Jamaican Pasta from Nine Mile in Asheville, NC, Greens


Monday, October 14, 2013

Quinoa Stew, Fingerling Potato (No Added Fat)


Sunday, October 13, 2013

Gnocchi with Tomato-Seitan Saute, Asparagus, Seeded Ciabatta Bread with Guacamole (No Added Fat besides avocado)


Saturday, October 12, 2013

Asparagus Saute with Spiced Seitan, Madagascar Pink Rice with Carrot (No Added Fat)


Friday, October 11, 2013

Pasta with Vegan Sausage dinner on my own


Thursday, October 10, 2013

20131010 Tricolor Quinoa w ithVegetables, Squash (No Added Fat)


Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Farmer's Market Malabar Spinach with Tempeh, Okra with Mixed Basil No-Fat "Pesto" (Almost No Added Fat)

On the way home, my daughter and I stopped by the Durham Farmer's Market this evening and picked up a variety of good looking fresh produce, almost all of which I used in tonight's dinner. The most unique, for me, item that I found was something called Malabar spinach.

I'd not heard of this spinach before; the farmer had dark green heart-like leaves clipped from a vine that looked a bit like money plant leaves. They are a little spongy and reminded me, in texture, a bit of aloe vera with a firm leaf but almost like gel inside. Apparently, this is from India, though my wife wasn't familiar with it. We all thought it tasted okay raw.

Other interesting items that I picked up included a large bag of mixed basil, Sungold cherry tomatoes, the largest okras I've ever seen, and fine green onions. I used up almost all of this with dinner tonight.

I love Sungold tomatoes - these little gems are like candy! I finished most of these while I was preparing dinner!

I saved one spinach leaf for each plate and presented it raw with a handful of Sungolds. I made a no added fat "pesto" like I did a few days ago by blending the basil with lime juice, a few cloves of garlic, a stalk of green onion, a pinch or two of salt, and a tablespoon or so of nutritional yeast. I sauteed in my titanium-steel Saladmaster pan the okra cut lengthwise into thirds (because they were so thick); when they were starting to brown a bit, I added 2" or so long pieces of green onion, cooked another minute or so, then added two tablespoons of my "pesto".

I cooked down another minute or two then, to add some saltiness and further deglaze and clean the pan, put in a few teaspoons of coconut aminos, stirred while bearing down on the pan, then served. For my wife and my portions, I added a generous amount of hot sauce to the plates; my preschooler would not have eaten the dish if it were spiced so.

While I prefer to cook with no added fat for health, I occasionally do use a little oil, such as to brown tempeh or seitan. I put a tablespoon or so of oil in a cast iron pan and sauteed about half of a package of tempeh cut into small rectangles maybe 1" x 1/2". As the tempeh became medium brown, I added about four or five of the green onion stalks, cut into 1/2" cubes, as well as the large handful of the Malabar spinach that I had purchased (reserving three leaves to eat raw, as above), which I had cut into thirds. I cooked the spinach down a bit, then served with a little oregano.

Dinner was good. This batch of "pesto" wasn't as tasty as the one that I had made a few days ago, but still added nice flavor surprises. The Malabar spinach was reasonably good, but probably not something I'll specifically seek.