Menu 12: Apple Cranberry Salad, Spinach Quinoa Salad, Mexican Pizza, Pepita Fettucini

Photo credit: www.veganyumyum.com

If someone asked me to fill out one of those surveys that they give to celebrities for the American Express ads when I was twelve, my “perfect day” would have included a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell.

Yes, admittedly, Taco Bell.

My reincarnated “healthy” (save the regular indulgence in vegan desserts at Blossom and Red Bamboo) vegan self no longer craves the neon green ooze that comes freshly squirted from the guac gun. However, there is something to be said for the deliciousness and simplicity that comes from a combination of crispy tortilla, a light hint of hearty beans, and tangy salsa, all held together with the kick of perfectly melted cheddar. (In my case, the cheddar is made from almond milk.)

So, as the city heats up (despite the fact that rain that become a semi-permanent fixture Monday – Friday), and my body is craving satisfyingly light salads, I had to throw in a recipe for Mexican Pizza in this week’s menu. The rest of this week’s dishes are light on the stomach, big in flavor, and use a great combination of berries, greens, and nuts.

You may have some leftover yogurt, dried fruit, and almonds this week – either save the fruit and almonds for future recipes, or add them to your breakfasts – yogurt parfaits, oatmeal – or midday snacks, like trail mix to avoid waste.

Enjoy!

This week’s dishes:

Apple Cranberry Salad with Fried Seitan and Almond Dijon Dressing

Mexican Pizza

Spinach-Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Almonds

Pepita Fettucini with Spinach and Cranberries

This week’s menu:

Sunday:
Dinner: Apple Cranberry Salad with Fried Seitan and Almond Dijon Dressing
Cook: Apple Cranberry Salad with Fried Seitan and Almond Dijon Dressing

Monday:
Lunch: Apple Cranberry Salad with Fried Seitan and Almond Dijon Dressing
Dinner: Mexican Pizza
Cook: Mexican Pizza, Spinach-Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Almonds

Tuesday:
Lunch: Spinach-Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Almonds
Dinner: Mexican Pizza
Cook: Mexican Pizza

Wednesday:
Lunch: Spinach-Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Almonds
Dinner: Pepita Fettucini with Spinach and Cranberries
Cook: Pepita Fettucini with Spinach and Cranberries

Thursday:
Lunch: Pepita Fettucini with Spinach and Cranberries
Dinner: Mexican Pizza
Cook: Mexican Pizza

Friday:
Lunch: Spinach-Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Almonds

This week’s recipes:

Apple Cranberry Salad with Fried Seitan and Almond Dijon Dressing

This is a grilled chicken salad for vegetarians and vegans. And, if you’re one of those people who are freaked out by fake meat, well then, it’s just a more filling salad because it includes protein in the seitan. The dressing is delicious and completely different from the light vinaigrettes that I use most often – it’s bold and creamy, and compliments the tart apple and leafy greens well.

The recipe includes instructions for making seitan from scratch – I take the short cut and use ready-made chicken-style seitan, which you can find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, near the tofu.

On Sunday, make the salad and dressing, but only mix about 2 tablespoons of dressing with the portion you will each on Sunday. Store the remaining dressing and salad separately and toss them together just before you have the second portion for lunch on Monday. (For those of us who work in offices, by “toss”, I mean pour the dressing into the salad container, close the container, and shake it vigorously in every direction. When you re-open, the salad will be evenly coated.)

Click here for the full recipe.

Mexican Pizza

So, you’re eating Mexican Pizza three times this week – once the beans are made, you’ll have dinner ready in about 15 minutes on the other nights. The recipe below is for 1 serving, or two pizzas.

Following this week’s blog intro, I don’t think this pizza needs any further introduction. But, I do have a few suggestions for variations (the recipe as it appears below is the simplest variation).

If you want the veggies to be more flavorful, toss them with a ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 tsp. of minced garlic, 1 tbsp of chopped cilantro, a ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper, and the juice of ½ lime, to make more of a chunky salsa.

If you’d like to add guacamole, add about a tablespoon on top of each pizza after they are baked. If you do this, I would use the veggies as they are below, (i.e. not make them into a salsa). A simple recipe for guacamole follows below.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2 tortillas (soft taco size)
1, 15 oz. can, black beans
1, 15 oz. can, red kidney beans
¼ cup, water
1 packet, taco seasoning
2 scallions, minced
½ small red onion, minced
1 small tomato, chopped
½ cup almond cheddar cheese, shredded

Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spray a pizza pan with cooking spray. Place tortillas on pan, and spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. Rinse beans thoroughly. Place in blender or food processor with ¼ cup water and ½ packet of taco seasoning. Blend until smooth (you may need to add more water to make smooth, but no more than 1/3 cup total). Add more taco seasoning to taste.
3. Place tortillas on pan in oven for 3 minutes.
4. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in small pot over medium heat. Transfer beans to pot, stirring occasionally.
5. Prepare scallions, red onion, tomato, and cheese (by mincing, chopping, or shredding). During this prep time, the timer on oven will likely go off – flip the tortillas and put them back in the oven for 2 minutes.
6. Remove tortillas from oven. Spread 1 – 2 tbsp. of beans on each tortilla.
7. Top each tortilla with scallions, red onion, tomatoes, and cheese.
8. Bake at 300 degrees for 8 minutes.
9. Cool for two minutes. Serve!

Julie’s Guacamole:
(enough for two Mexican Pizzas)

1 ripe Haas avocado
½ tsp. crushed red pepper, or more to taste
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. cumin
1 clove, garlic, minced
Juice from ½ lime
1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped

1. Mash all ingredients in bowl, or pulse in food processor.
2. Add additional seasoning to taste.

Spinach-Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Almonds
According to Vegetarian Times, this dish is great for picnics as it won’t get soggy. This also makes it a perfect dish for singles or couples who want to cook once, store it, and eat it over the course of a few days.

The salad provides an awesome balance of proteins, veggies, fruit, and nuts – so there are lots of nutrients in here. It will fill you up, but won’t weigh you down. (Is that line in a commercial for something…?)

Couple of notes on the yogurt: the recipe does include yogurt, but is easily vegan-ized with the use of soy yogurt. Also, you only need ¼ cup of it for this recipe, so either buy one of the small yogurt cups, or, if you buy the larger size, use it for breakfast all week.

Click here for the full recipe.

Pepita Fettucini with Spinach and Cranberries
As I was making this dish (pictured above), I didn’t know whether or not I would like it – it didn’t seem like there was enough sauce, I was worried that it wouldn’t have enough flavor, or that the flavor combination (soy sauce, maple syrup, pumpkin seeds and cranberries?) would be strange. So, it was a bit of an adventure.

But, I’m happy to report that it was one with a happy ending. I won’t say anything else – try it, and I promise you’ll be surprised.

Oh, and pepitas are raw pumpkin seeds.

Click here for the full recipe.

This Week's Grocery List:
The optional items are for additions that you might make to the Mexican Pizza recipe.

Some grocery stores allow you to buy dried fruits, rice, and nuts in loose quantities, so I’ve included the actual amount that you’ll need this week if you’re able to buy that exactly. If you can’t do this, and have to buy a package of sliced almonds, for example, then buy the standard 4 or 8 ounce package – you can use leftovers in future recipes, or in breakfast items like yogurt parfaits or oatmeal.

Produce
3 small tomatoes
1 bunch, scallions
1 Head Lettuce (Romaine or Green)
1 Granny Smith apple
3 small red onions
Avocado (optional)
1 bulb, Garlic
Lime (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
3 cups, fresh spinach
1 cup, fresh cherries (or ½ cup dried cherries)
1 cucumber
1 lemon

Oils, Spices, Condiments
Olive oil cooking spray
Olive oil
Canola Oil
Crushed red pepper
Cumin (optional)
Salt
1 packet, taco seasoning
Brown sugar
Thyme
Old Bay seasoning
Vegetable Bullion cubes
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Soy sauce
Maple syrup
Dijon Mustard

Canned and Bottled Goods
1, 15 oz. can, black beans
1, 15 oz. can, red beans
1, 15 oz. can, chickpeas

Dry Goods
1, 12 – 16 oz. package, dried fettuccini
Nutritional yeast
1/3 c. Raw Pepitas
½ c. Dried cranberries
1 c. Sliced almonds
1 ½ c. Quinoa

Refrigerator/Freezer
Tortillas (package of 6)
Almond cheese
Plain soy yogurt
Soy milk
1 package, chicken-style Seitan

Menu 2: Herbed Lasagna, Hummus Wraps, Arugula Salad, Wild Mushroom Pasta...

What’s new:

Last week’s menu (Menu 1) is now edited to include all of the changes that I made as I was cooking. So, if you’re following the blog a week behind, that menu is all set with tips and suggestions.

This week, I’m making herbed lasagna, hummus wraps (with homemade hummus!), an arugula-based salad with apples and marinated tofu, and wild mushroom pasta. The menu, recipes, and grocery list are all available below. I will edit this with my “lessons learned” on Thursday evening.

This week’s menu:
Remember how, in elementary school, you would get that calendar every month telling you what would be served for lunch each day? Well, here’s my version for this week, telling me what I need to cook and eat each day, (except the food is a lot better…and vegan/vegetarian).

Sunday:
Dinner: Lasagna
Cook: Lasagna

Monday:
Lunch: Lasagna
Dinner: Mushroom pasta and Salad
Cook: Mushroom pasta and Salad

Tuesday:
Lunch: Lasagna
Dinner: Hummus wrap
Cook: Hummus, assemble wraps

Wednesday:
Lunch: Lasagna
Dinner: Mushroom pasta and Salad
Cook: Assemble hummus wrap

Thursday:
Lunch: Hummus wrap
Dinner: Mushroom pasta and Salad
Cook: Salad, Assemble wrap for Friday’s lunch

Friday:
Lunch: Hummus Wrap

This week’s recipes:

Herbed Lasagna with Zucchini:
This lasagna recipe uses tofu and pine nuts to create a ricotta-like “cheese” which is delicious – as confirmed by my non-vegan family and roommate. (I didn’t tell my brother that it wasn’t ricotta, and he didn’t know the difference!) The use of tofu also makes the dish much healthier than traditional lasagna. And, as a large tray of food, it lasts for days.
Click here for Lasagna recipe

Note:

So, the recipes I use from Vegetarian Times always need more flavor. So, instead of the amounts in the recipe for the lasagna, I recommend using:

1 cup of basil,

1/2 cup of parsley,

1/2 cup of pine nuts,

3-4 cloves of garlic,

2 teaspoons of salt,

1 teaspoon of pepper,

Juice from one lemon.

Also, I find that three zucchini, not four, is enough.

Cooking with tofu can be a challenge - in this recipe, it's important to try and get as much of the water out of the tofu as possible; it makes the "ricotta" more cheese-like. So, while I'm still looking for the best way to cook with tofu in general, here's what I did for the lasagna:

I cut each tofu block in half lengthwise, and microwaved the halves for four minutes. This removed some water. Then, I put the tofu on a cookie sheet, covered it with a cutting board, and placed a heavy pot on top of the cutting board. I pressed down a few times to squeeze water out, and then left the pot on top of the cutting board for about ten minutes. This got a fair amount of water out, and from there, I put the tofu in the food processor and took it from there with the seasonings.

Hummus wraps
If you have a food processor, hummus is super easy to make, because you just have to throw everything in and pulse it until it’s all blended. If you don’t have a food processor, you can make hummus in a blender, but you should add the chickpeas in ½ can increments to make sure they get completely blended with the oil before adding more. Through this process, with either the food processor or the blender, take breaks from pulsing to stir the mixture with a rubber spatula. Also, be sure to taste the hummus before you take it out of the food processor or blender, and add more seasonings or lemon juice, as desired.

You can make the hummus wrap sandwiches in whatever kind of bread suits you best – pita pockets, flatbreads, tortilla-style wraps, or whole-wheat naan. I like to use naan because of the thickness of the bread.

Julie’s recipe for hummus:
2, 15 oz. cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon of olive oil (yes, a separate one)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp of tahini
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 tbsp of chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Put ½ of the chickpeas and ½ of the oil in the food processor and blend until creamy. (You may need to add a few tablespoons of water to get it to smooth out.) Add the rest of the chickpeas and oil and pulse until creamy, (again, adding a little bit of water, if necessary).
2. Add the lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, and parsley, and pulse until all ingredients are evenly mixed in the creamy hummus.
3. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Blend. Drizzle with the additional tablespoon of olive oil before serving or storing.

Julie’s recipe for hummus wraps:
1 naan (or pita bread, flatbread, etc.)
Hummus (from recipe above)
½ cup of green leaf lettuce, chopped

¼ cup of sprouts
¼ cup of tomato, diced
¼ cup of cucumber, peeled and diced
¼ cup of red onion, diced
4- 5 Kalamata olives, sliced

1. Spray pan with cooking oil spray, and heat naan on medium heat for 2 minutes.
2. Spread hummus on heated bread.
3. Layer lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion and olives on bread, or inside pita pocket
4. Roll up (if using naan or flatbread), and serve.

Arugula Salad
At lunch last weekend at Blossom Café, I saw this salad on the menu, and decided to try making it this week. When I saw that it was dressed with an “herbed tahini dressing”, I used Google to figure out what ingredients might go into it. At Whole Foods, I found a WestSoy brand baked marinated tofu (Garlic and Herb flavor) that worked well in this salad.

Here’s my version of Blossom Café’s salad:
2 cups of arugula
1 green apple, diced
½ pint of cherry tomatoes
1 handful of clover sprouts
½ package of baked marinated tofu, diced

I used this recipe for the herbed tahini dressing, minus the umeboshi vinegar.

1. Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl.
2. Drizzle salad with 2 tbsp. of tahini dressing. Toss.
3. Serve.

Note: This recipe will make 2 servings of the salad, (or 1 serving if you like big salads). If you have extra salad, refrigerate the salad for the next serving separately from the dressing to keep the ingredients crisp and non-soggy. Also, the herbed tahini dressing will thicken when you refrigerate it. So, when it's time to use it again, just add a teaspoon of water (a bit more if you see fit), and stir. The dressing will return back to the right consistency for your salad.

Wild Mushroom Pasta
My friend Allison shared Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn site with me, which has a section of vegetarian and vegan friendly recipes. I found this recipe there, and while some of the ingredients seem more expensive than I would normally like, the dish looks too good to not try (at least once). The recipe calls for a cup of white wine – you can use wine that you might happen to have at home, or buy an inexpensive bottle of cooking wine at the grocery store. Also, for vegans, substitute the butter with an oil-based “buttery spread” like this one.

Click here for the Wild Mushroom Pasta recipe.

Note: The whisking was key to making the mushroom pasta sauce thicken up at the end. I also let it cook for a few extra minutes on medium heat. Also, a hint - I thought I had flour, and didn't, so I cheated - I used three tablespoons of buckwheat pancake mix. It worked. And, my pasta (thankfully) didn't taste like pancakes.

This week’s grocery list:

If you cook regularly, you shouldn’t have to buy all of these things – for example, this week, I don’t need to buy any of the ingredients in the “Oils, Spices, and Condiments” category. In “Bottled and Canned Goods”, I only need one can of chickpeas and the marinara sauce. And, I don’t need to buy flour or butter. Just things to consider when you’re thinking about the overall cost of a week’s worth of cooking – if you’re in the habit, you shouldn’t have to buy every ingredient listed.

Produce:
1 bunch fresh basil
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch scallions
1, 4 oz. pkg. pine nuts
2 bulbs of garlic (1 if you have at least 3 cloves leftover from last week)
2 lemons
4 medium size zucchini
4 cups of arugula (bagged or loose)
2 green apples
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
1, 4 oz. package of clover sprouts
1 bunch of green leaf lettuce
2 tomatoes
2 small cucumbers
2 small red onions
¾ cup of Kalamata olives (from the olive bar)
1, ½ oz. package wild mushrooms
3, 8 oz. packages of white button or portobello mushrooms, washed and chopped
4 large shallots, minced
1 pkg. sage

Oils, Spices, Condiments:
Salt
Black pepper
Sugar
Red pepper flakes
Cumin powder
Vegetable bullion cubes
Olive oil

Canned and Bottled Goods:
2 bottles of marinara sauce
1 bottle of sesame tahini (smallest bottle available)
2, 15 oz. cans of chickpeas
1 bottle white wine, or cooking white wine

Dry Goods:
1, 9 oz. package of no-cook lasagna noodles
1 pkg. of 4-6 pita breads or naans.
1, 12 – 16 oz. package of whole wheat rotini pasta
Flour

Refrigerator/Freezer:
2, 14 oz. packages of firm tofu
1 package of baked marinated tofu (WestSoy brand, Garlic and Herb flavor, or something similar)
Butter