Healthy "Beef" and Broccoli

June 5, 2013 Kathleen Henry

I've never really been big on using vegan mock products. I know I've briefly touched on this before. They tend to be very processed and why make a “faux” mac and “cheese” when you can make a wonderful macaroni pasta with a sweet potato and nutritional yeast sauce. No, it’s not typical mac and cheese but it’s damn delicious, has no processed ingredients and is a hell of a lot better for you. However, if you're a new vegan, these products can help make the transition a bit easier. O,r for those few truly cherished recipes that are primarily non-vegan, faux products can be very instrumental. Todd almost died when he realized a conventional grilled cheese sandwich would never again grace his lips . Thank you baby Jesus for Daiya! He can now have his beloved grilled cheese sandwich...and eat it too! Beef and broccoli is one of those cherished dishes for me. It may sound kind of silly and what a weird recipe to treasure am I right? Yet, my parents, when they were together, made one bad-ass beef and broccoli stir-fry. It still reminds me of a place and time in my life when my family was all together, happy, and under one roof.

Well, I literally squealed with joy when I found this bag of Gardein Home Style Beefless tips in the freezer section. I had no idea this sort of thing existed! Or, at least not at a small grocery store in Alaska. It was Carrs, if you are from Alaska and in case you live under a rock like me and didn't know this existed. Anyways, I knew exactly what I was going to make with it. "Beef" and Broccoli!

Normal people serve beef and broccoli over rice, but I was just reading about protein deficiencies after spending a small part of my days for the last couple weeks with bouts of nausea...and let me stop you there before the jokes and harassment begin…no, I am definitely NOT pregnant. Great, we can now move on. Anyways, back to protein deficiencies, quinoa happens to have a complete amino acid profile and in general is more nutritionally robust then rice and thus, I opted for quinoa. Besides...rice, quinoa…do they really taste that much different? In my opinion, no, they do not. Yet, if you still want to be all traditional feel free to use rice.

Healthy “Beef” and Broccoli

Inspired by Kimmy's Bake Shop

Serves 5

1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 9 oz. package of Gardein Home Style Beefless tips
1 tsp. sesame oil
½ Tbsp. olive oil
2 heads of broccoli, chopped and lightly steamed
4 oz. (3/4 cup) of sugar snap peas, cut on a diagonal and lightly steamed
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
sprinkling of red pepper flakes (optional)
1.5 cups dry quinoa (or rice)
3 cups water
sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish

Start by cooking the quinoa or rice. If using rice, cook according to package. If using quinoa, spray a medium pot with cooking spray, rinse quinoa and add to the pot with the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, turn down to low and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes or until all water has dissipated. When finished cooking, fluff with a fork and cover until ready for use. Dang, quinoa is easy and quick!

Meanwhile, wash and chop the broccoli. Slice the pea pods on a diagonal, in half hot-dog style and steam along with the broccoli until they are just slightly tender.

In a large frying pan, heat the sesame and olive oil over medium. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water and pour into the beefless tips bag. Zip the bag back closed and give it a good shake. Pour the tips into the hot pan and fry over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes or until cooked through. A few minutes in, add the garlic and stir occasionally to keep from scorching.

After 5-10 minutes, add the lightly steamed vegetables and continue to stir-fry for about 5 more minutes. Now, add the soy sauce, sugar, ginger and additional cornstarch to a bowl and whisk to combine. Add to the frying pan and cook while continuing to stir for another minute or so.

Serve over quinoa or rice and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

A new comfort food favorite in our very vegan home. Maybe yours too?

Frugal Kale Pesto Pasta

June 4, 2013 Kathleen Henry

Pesto...so expensive, but so darn delicious. I don't know about ya'll but here in Alaska, basil (when you can find it in the store, seriously) is very spendy, and don't even get me started on the pine nuts. Not only does it take two hours to find them, but they also cost about two hours of my pay. It's a little nuts, heh heh a pun! Anywho, Todd and I are leaving for Ohio this week which means I not only have to use up the food in the fridge, but I'm also forbidden from purchasing any food items for fear they will spoil. This is a restriction I have placed upon myself. I cannot be trusted.

Interestingly enough, all that my fridge offered up yesterday was kale...and broccoli. There was a block of tofu, too. That was honestly about it. Good shape for leaving, poor shape for making dinner. So I thought to myself, how about a kale pesto? That sounded good and doable enough, but I sure as hell wasn't buying any pine nuts. I decided to use what nuts I had stashed away. This happened to be pecans, walnuts and brazil nuts. I wasn't exactly sure how the combination would be pan out but I thought, "Meh, I'll try it out." Olive oil, nutritional yeast and garlic are staples that I always on hand so there was no problem there. I even had some really good, cheapo pasta from Costco and a few fresh basil leaves from my two little guys outside. Fancy that!

This pesto is so scrumptious who cares if it's not all proper like. Don't be mistaken though. This ain't no poor man's pesto. Nope, I can safely say I don't ever desire to make a proper pesto again.

A quick note: This pesto sauce recipe makes enough for 34 oz. of dry pasta. That's a lot of pasta, so go ahead and cut the pesto recipe in half, save half for later (which I did) or just use 34 oz. if you've got a boatload of people to feed.

Frugal Kale Pesto Pasta

Inspired by Culinary Adventures In The Kitchen

Makes 4 large servings (pesto sauce recipe makes 2 batches/8 large servings)

1 bunch of kale, blanched
1 small handful of fresh basil leaves
1 cup mixed nuts, chopped and toasted (I used pecans, walnuts and brazil nuts. Feel free to use what you have on hand.)
2 large garlic cloves
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice from 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. walnut oil (or additional olive oil)
3 generous pinches of pink Himalayan salt
sprinkling of ground black pepper
17 oz. of dry pasta of choice (I used Penne)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Chop up those nuts! Once the temperature has been reached, arrange the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for 10-15 minutes or until fragrant. I beg of you; don't skip the toasting!

Bring a large pot of water to boil. De-stem and wash the kale. Once the water is boiling, submerge the kale in the water for about 3 minutes. Meanwhile get a large bowl and fill it with very cold water. Drain the kale and rinse with cold water, then submerge in bowl of very cold water. Let it sit until ready to use.

Fill the large pot up with water again, this time for the pasta. While the water works to a boil, combine the kale, basil, toasted nuts and garlic in a food processor and process until smooth. Add in the yeast and lemon juice, processing again. Turn off and scrape down the sides. Turn back on and with the processor running, add in the oils. Blend until combined and then add the salt and pepper and process again until combined. Scrape down the sides as needed. Congrats, you just made an amazing and frugal pesto! Times are tough but that doesn't mean we can't eat well.

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Now that the water is boiling, add in the pasta and cook according to the package. This isn't rocket science. Drain the pasta and in a large pot or bowl combine half the recipe of the pesto and all the pasta. Freeze the remaining pesto for later or store in the fridge for a few days until ready to use.

Serve hot with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast. Now that's some good pesto. Enjoy!

Frugal Kale Pesto Pasta

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Katie - Produce On Parade

Serves: 4-6

Too broke to buy pine nuts and 5 lbs of fresh basil? Never fear, make this Frugal Kale Pesto Pasta instead! I'll never go back!

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale, blanched
1 small handful of fresh basil leaves
1 cup mixed nuts, chopped and toasted (I used pecans, walnuts and brazil nuts. Feel free to use what you have on hand.)
2 large garlic cloves
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice from 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. walnut oil (or additional olive oil)
3 generous pinches of pink Himalayan salt
sprinkling of ground black pepper
17 oz. of dry pasta of choice (I used Penne)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F and toast chopped nuts for 10-15 minutes.
Blanch kale.
Boil water for pasta.
While the water works to a boil, combine the kale, basil, toasted nuts and garlic in a food processor and process until smooth. Add in the yeast and lemon juice, processing again.
With the processor running, add in the oils and salt and pepper.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to the package.
Drain the pasta and in a large pot or bowl combine half the recipe of the pesto and all the pasta.
Freeze the remaining pesto for later or store in the fridge for a few days until ready to use.
Serve hot with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast. Now that's some good pesto.