Vegan Bento Lunch

Life is good.

I get to pack a Vegan lunch when I go to work--it helps me stay on track-- and this Vegan Bento lunch was such a special treat, I had to share it!  Yesterday, I stopped at Koreana Market for some Kimbap (Korean sushi rolls).  I had one roll for lunch that day and saved the other for my lunch today to make packing a lunch super easy and quick during the morning rush.  Usually, I get the fish cake kimbap with egg, but I made a special request at the deli counter for a veggie only (carrots, cucumber and pickled radish) kimbap and they made it for me!  I am so glad I spoke up and asked--they were so nice to prepare a special order for me. Love Koreana Market!

I decided to pack some Chinese pickled cabbage and some Japanese Soba noodles with some green onions and black sesame seeds on a small bed of arugula.  It was a delish! 

Mushroom Barley Soup and Roasted Parsnips with Rosemary

My dear friend got me a subscription for "Everday Food" Magazine earlier this year for my birthday, so that's the inspiration for tonight's dinner: Mushroom Barley Soup and Roasted Parsnips.

The roasted parsnips were a surprise delight, somewhere between a radish and a potato--a ratato! These roasted parsnips were almost like a baked french fry fake out and were quite tasty with a hint of spicy bite to them.The outside of the roasted parsnip gets nice and caramelized with a slightly crunchy crust and a creamy, soft inside similar to a baked french fry.  I would definitely make these roasted parsnips again.  They would be a good side dish for a veggie burger!

The mushroom barley soup had a wonderful earthiness that was so hearty and satisfying.  The barley was nice and nutty like brown rice. I am definitely making this again because it was super fast and easy to throw together, especially because I had some barley already cooked and cooled in the fridge.  I try to keep a container of barley in the fridge all week so I can use it for barley salads, soups or hashes. Barley has become my new go-to recipe star ingredient to experiment with in hot and cold dishes.  Barley is so versatile and it travels well for lunches, which I need so I can stay on track at work.

Roasted Parsnips

2 Parsnips, peeled and cut into sticks in an oven fry fashion
1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Toss ingredients together to coat and season the parsnips.
Heat oven to 400 F and roast for 10 minutes, turn parsnips and continue cooking 10 more minutes. Optional: salt parsnips lightly when you pull them out of the oven.

Mushroom Barley Soup

1 package of button mushrooms, sliced
1 package cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves chopped
4 cups or 1 carton vegetable stock
2 cups cooked barley (can add another cup if soup looks too thin, I just eyeballed it)
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
Salt and Pepper

Saute mushrooms on medium heat in coconut oil until they get soft. Add onions, garlic and thyme, salt and pepper. Add vegetable stock and turn heat up to high. Add barley and bring to a boil. *I added a teaspoon of soy sauce just to give it a little added depth of flavor, but not so much that it overpowered the soup.  Lower to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. This should serve 2 people or 4 if the bowls are small, although I had seconds, so it depends on how hungry you are!

Channa Masala (Indian chickpea chili)

Just made my first batch of Channa Masala and oh lordy am I hooked!  If you plan ahead and soak the chickpeas overnight, you can simmer them up the next day in 30-40 minutes. I simmered my chickpeas/garbanzo beans this morning and let them cool so they would be ready for dinner tonight.  I do not think canned chickpeas will do this dish justice, so take the time to cook up your own--it is so worth it and it makes the Channa Masala taste so fresh and more flavorful. 

What you need:
4 cups cooked chickpeas or two cans of chickpeas
2 tablespoons Channa Masala seasoning blend
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
2 Fresno chiles sliced or 1 serano chile, seeded and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped or 1 can cut tomatoes
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons mango chutney
2/3 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish

What I did:

Saute onions in coconut oil--instantly your house will smell so good! Add garlic, ginger and chiles. Stir for a few minutes. Add Channa Masala seasoning blend and cumin seeds. Toast the spices and coat the onion mixture. Add the tomatoes and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Add chickpeas and stir to coat with spices.  Add water and simmer for 10 minutes so the tomatoes breakdown and create a light sauce. Add mango chutney and simmer for a few more minutes. Adjust seasoning with more salt if needed. Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice and/or with naan or paratha.

This Channa Masala is so good and filling.  It is so unbelievably flavorful and satisfying and very simple to make--once you have the chickpeas cooked, this dish can be thrown together very quickly, in well under 20 minutes, including prep/chopping time.  I need to make a double batch of this next time because there were hardly any leftovers! I love the slight tanginess from the mango chutney and the hint of spice from the chiles and of course, I love the cilantro! Channa Masala has a great balance of flavors and is so worth making at home--if we were to order this at an Indian restaurant, it would have been $9-11 at least!  I made mine with dried chickpeas, which cost way less than canned chickpeas, so this meal was very budget friendly!  Channa Masala is definitely going to be a new staple for me! (And if I get lazy or am short on time, I will have to use canned chickpeas, but I know it won't taste the same because it won't have the full flavor and "meatiness" or "al dente" bite of  homecooked chickpeas.)

With dishes like this Channa Masala, it is easy to stick with Vegan meals and non-Vegans will even appreciate this dish because it is so tasty! I'm tellin' ya, cooking your own chickpeas makes ALL the difference--the earthy, full taste of homemade chickpeas is so different from canned chickpeas, which are too salty and mushy.

This is another great dish to take to potlucks because it doesn't have to be served screaming hot and can be eaten at room temperature--plus you don't have to worry about anything going bad! I am thinking about throwing some of the leftovers in the food processor and using it as a dip or spread...doesn't that sound good?

Free Tomato at Lucky? My Lucky Day!

It must be my lucky day because I got a free tomato at Lucky Supermarket today.  I had no idea that Lucky has such a good company policy about rectifying errors at checkout.  I picked up this tomato because tomatoes were on special for $0.99/lb.  Generally, I make it a habit to review my receipt and double check that I got the sale price that I saw because sometimes I stock up based purely on what's on sale.  As I was checking out, I saw the price scan for my tomato and it was $1.50! That seemed pretty high for a tomato that I bought on sale! So I asked the cashier to check the price of the tomatoes because I thought they were supposed to be $0.99/lb. She said she put in the code for vine ripened tomatoes and I know I didn't buy that kind.  Luckily, there was a sticker with the produce number on my tomato and when I read it to her, she realized she made a mistake. She promptly gave me a refund for my otherwise $1.50 tomato and then she said, "You can keep that tomato," and I nearly fell down. I told her it was okay I didn't want a free tomato but she said it was company policy and insisted that I take it. So that's how I got a free tomato, just by remembering the price I thought I was buying it for!  I have caught a lot of errors on receipts at other stores, so it is a good habit to get into because you just never know!

Thank you, Lucky Supermarket for your amazing customer service!  I wasn't expecting such good follow through with your company policy. Thanks so much for my tomato!

Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips

Trader Joe's has done it again! I spotted this great new snack today: Roasted Coconut Chips. I am a coconut fiend, so of course I had to give these a try!  (Bonus: Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips are Vegan!)

I am officially addicted to these Roasted Coconut Chips--you had me at "coconut" and "chip"!  These coconut chips are nice and crisp and light, not chewy like dried coconut. The roasting process, without adding oil, makes these coconut chips very nutty and delicious with the right balance of being slightly sweet and ever so slightly salty.  The coconut chips themselves are just thinly shaved pieces of coconut, roughly the shape of long rectangles or squares, and not at all like the grated or flaked coconut used in baking.

Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips are perfect for satisfying crunchy chip cravings, but they are very addictive and it's very easy to eat the whole bag--granted, they come packaged in a small bag, but still!  I am going to use these roasted coconut chips as a garnish for my sweet potato and butternut squash soup the next time I make it--but I will have to buy more bags of these roasted coconut chips because I will be craving these for sure!  They should be called Trader Joe's Heavenly Roasted Coconut Chips!

Spicy Ratatouille with Harissa

I had a beautiful eggplant to use up, so I decided to make some ratatouille.  This is a quick meal to throw together in the slow cooker-- all you have to do is saute some veggies and let the slow cooker do the rest. I was able to put this meal together in the slowcooker in less than 20 minutes, including all the chopping!

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small zucchini, cut into half moons
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 14 oz can cut tomatoes
1 tablespoon harissa
1/4 cup white wine (or water)
2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
3-4 leaves torn fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper

*I have a slow cooker with an insert that can be used on a stovetop like a pot, so I just start the ratatouille on the stove and finish it in the slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours (low for 6-7 hours). But you can just simmer it on med/low for a few hours if you are home or transfer it to the slow cooker after the ratatouille comes to a simmer.

What I did:

Saute the onions for a minute in 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini and season with salt, pepper, Herbs de Provence and oregano. If the eggplant soaks up all the oil, then add some more.  Deglaze with the wine. Let it simmer away until the wine concentrates.  Add the tomatoes, harissa, and basil. Add extra water, enough to cover the veggies. Season with more salt and pepper. I cooked mine on high for a little over 3 hours since I threw this together in the afternoon and wanted it to be ready by dinner time.

This ratatouille is so flavorful and the harissa adds a kick of spice that makes up for not using chicken stock or broth (which is what I used to use).  I love ratatouille because you can eat it hot, cold or room temperature and you can eat it as is or over rice, over pasta, with some crusty bread or even cous cous. Ratatouille is so versatile and it is a super easy way to get a ton of veggies in one meal--it is the perfect one pot wonder meal!

Eating out at Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill: Veganized Balsamic Roasted Veggie Salad

Eating out can be hard for Vegans because almost everywhere you go, everything has meat or dairy built into it!  But, if I want to stick to this new lifestyle, I need to learn to read menus closely and scan them for Vegan-friendly options.  I went to Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill yesterday and ordered my favorite salad: Rubio's Balsamic Roasted Veggie Salad.  I made a special request and asked for no chicken or cheese and then asked for black beans instead.  The manager, who took my order, was very nice and he took off a $1 since I asked for the salad without chicken!  He did not charge me anything extra for the black beans, which was very cool. So, the salad went from $5.99 to $4.99!  I saved a buck because I "Veganized" it and the manager was more than happy to take my special request because everything at Rubio's is made to order! Yay!  This Balsamic Roasted Veggie Salad had a nice tang to it.  Of course, I had to douse it with my favorite salsa, the roasted chipotle salsa.  This salad is one of the healthiest meals on the menu (even with the chicken calculated into it) with 310 calories, 20g protein and 11g fat.  While I don't know the nutritional breakdown of the chicken-less and cheese-free salad that I special ordered, it's okay because I know it was yummy, filling and it fit the Vegan bill.  Best of all, it kept me on track!

Rubio's Balsamic Roasted Veggie salad usually consists of: Marinated grilled chicken, fire-roasted corn, roasted peppers and onions, buttery Hass Avocado slices, a cilantro/onion mix and cotija cheese on a romaine and spring lettuce mix, topped with red and green cabbage. Drizzled with light balsamic vinaigrette made with extra virgin olive oil.