Tag Archives: spices

Meatless Mondays: Pho with Mushroom Broth and Broccoli

I came home from the movies yesterday and decided it was high time we cooked the Pho waiting for us in the cabinet. Any kind of soup or stew is Hubby’s specialty so I let him have at it. It wasn’t a traditional Vietnamese Pho although he did use the rice noodles and the seasoning packet that came with it.

He started by using a little oil in the pot. He then added onions, hot sauce, minced garlic, red pepper and celery with Himalayan sea salt and peppers. After they caramelized, he added 4 cups of mushroom broth and then 4 cups of water. He brought it to a boil and then added  3/4 cup of broccoli. Three to five minutes later, he added the rice noodles and let boil for 2-3 minutes. Cilantro was added to garnish the dish. The spice combination was fantastic! We are excited to eat it again, tonight. Sometimes, leftovers is what’s best for dinner and that is always alright with me!

Meatless Mondays: Walnut Meat Tacos

Tonight, I am working on another writing project so I opted to make something quick and easy for Meatless Mondays: Walnut Meat Tacos. I have made walnut meat tacos in Romaine lettuce leaves but I opted for blue corn taco shells tonight. It’s not only quick and easy but tasty! Ever since being plant-based, I value spices more than ever and I realize all I have ever been interested in–with meat or vegetables–was the taste. No one likes a bland plate of either! I added a corn and bean salsa and sliced some avocado on the side and substituted liquid aminos for soy sauce. This recipe came from genius kitchen.

Here it is:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup raw walnuts
    1 tablespoon soy sauce
    1 teaspoon garlic powder
    1 teaspoon cumin
    1 teaspoon paprika
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Spiced walnut “meat” after being pulsed in the food processor.

Directions:

  1. Put ingredients in a food processor.
  2. Pulse until course and crumbly. Don’t pulse for too long, or else you’ll end up with butter!

Enjoy! I know we will tonight!

Meatless Monday: Easy Vegan Fettuccine

I decided to do something simple this time around and try the Easy Fettuccine Alfredo with Broccoli from brandnewvegan.com. I was particularly excited about it because I had never tried to make an Alfredo sauce and my curiosity was piqued because the recipe called for potatoes, onion, spices and cashews to make the creamy sauce.

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Drained cashews that eventually became major part of a creamy Alfredo sauce!
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Here’s the “Alfredo” sauce. Loved the creamy consistency!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 2 Potatoes, quartered. (I recommend Yukon Golds)
  • ¼ onion (or the white part of 1 Leek), chopped
  • ½ cup cashews
  • 1 cup potato water used to boil potatoes
  • 1 Tbls Italian Seasoning
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice (I like 2 personaly)
  • 2-4 cloves Garlic (again, more is better for me)
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
  • 1-2 Tbls Nutritional Yeast (optional if you don’t like Nooch)
  • Fettuccine Noodles
Instructions
  1. Soak cashews in 1 cup hot water while preparing sauce
  2. Peel potatoes if desired and quarter them
  3. Add potatoes and onion to a large pot and cover with cold water
  4. Once the water is boiling, cook for 10 minutes
  5. Remove veggies with a slotted spoon and add to blender
  6. Add 1 cup of the potato water
  7. Drain cashews and add to blender
  8. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth
  9. Add more water to get the consistency you desire
  10. Season with salt and pepper to taste
  11. Prepare Fettuccini according to package instructions
  12. Add 1 bag frozen Broccoli during last 5 minutes of boil
  13. Drain thoroughly and stir in Alfredo Sauce

I can’t wait to make this again! Jeff and I both loved it. Speaking as someone who used to be a cheese addict, I was thoroughly impressed with this recipe.

Meatless Monday

Although I talk about my wellness journey, I don’t post much about food. I cook but my husband loves it way more than I do.  When I was learning more about #bloglikecrazy (write 30 posts in 30 days throughout the month of November started by See Jane Write founder Javacia Bowser), theme days were suggested. The only one that spoke to me was Meatless Mondays. Since I have been plant-based for several months, it would be nice to share a few of the meals we eat or trying for the first time.

Tonight, hubby cooked a vegan three-bean chili. He doesn’t measure anything out but he told me he used pinto, kidney and black beans, canned diced tomatoes, corn, mushrooms and uses chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika and salts and peppers to taste. He also includes onion, bell peppers and celery and does not skimp on the hot sauce. His chili never disappoints. We decided to try vegan corn muffins for the first time. We had vegetarian Jiffy corn muffin mix but I added fresh corn and sugar. It was nice to see the vegan alternative to egg pictured here:

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When he came home, he didn’t bring muffin tins but a larger pan. No biggie–we just made it work. It was a little flatter than we would have liked but it tasted good–sweet and not dry at all. So here’s how it all turned out:

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We didn’t have muffin tins but it turned out great.

Day 6  of #bloglikecrazy is in the books!