Watermelon gazpacho

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/watermelon-gazpacho.html?recipe_print=yes 

Watermelon Gazpacho

Adapted with permission from Juice Manifesto by Andrew Cooper (Chronicle Books, 2016)

This watermelon gazpacho is adapted from Juice Manifesto by Andrew Cooper (Chronicle Books, 2016)

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Total Time: 15 Minutes, plus 2 to 3 hours to chill

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups cubed watermelon (1-inch cubes)
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
• ½ English/hothouse cucumber, roughly chopped 
• 2 red bell peppers, roughly chopped
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (see note)

• ½ a red chile pepper
• Juice of 2 limes
• Handful fresh basil leaves
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set aside 3-4 cubes of watermelon, a couple of celery pieces, and a few leaves of basil to use as a garnish for the soup.
2. Put the remaining ingredients into a blender (if you run out of room, blend the vegetables for a few seconds to make more space for the other ingredients). Pulse until it reaches a soup-like consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Chill in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Finely chop the reserved watermelon, celery and basil. Pour the gazpacho into bowls or glasses and top with garnishes.
3. Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
4. Note: If you touch the seeds of the chile pepper, just be sure to wash your hands well and avoid touching your eyes.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

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• Per serving (4 servings)
• Calories:90
• Fat:1 g
• Carbohydrates:20 g
• Sugar:14 g
• Fiber:4 g
• Protein:3 g
• Sodium:31 mg
• Cholesterol:0 mg

 

Summer Gazpacho Salad

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/summer-gazpacho-salad.html#tabrecipe 

Summer Gazpacho Salad

A chunkier version of gazpacho, this summery salad is filled with juicy tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, and crunchy cucumbers. 

Servings: 6 to 8

Total Time: 30 Minutes, plus at least 1-1/2 hours to chill

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup diced red onion, from 1 small red onion
• 3 lbs tomatoes 
• 1 English (or hothouse) cucumber, seeded and diced (no need to peel)
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, best quality 
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, best quality 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (okay to substitute flat-leaf parsley)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the diced onions in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak for 10 minutes, then drain.
2. Using a serrated knife, cut the tomatoes in half through their “equator.” Holding each tomato half over a large mixing bowl, use a finger to scoop out the seeds and juices (those will make up part of the dressing). You can also gently squeeze the tomato half to push out the seeds. Remove the cores and dice the tomatoes, then add it to the bowl with the tomato juices/seeds along with the drained onions and remaining salad ingredients. Toss well. 
3. Chill the salad the refrigerator for at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours to allow the flavors to marry. During this time, the vegetables will exude more juice so you'll need to taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and more Tabasco before serving, if necessary. Spoon the vegetables and dressing into bowls and serve cold with soup spoons. 
4. Note: It may seem odd to juice and seed the tomatoes when they end up as part of the salad anyway. The reason behind that is to preserve both. Otherwise, they tend to spill off the cutting board and make a mess (especially if you have very juicy tomatoes).

NUTRITION INFORMATION

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• Per serving (8 servings)
• Serving size:about 1 1/2 cups
• Calories:120
• Fat:7 g
• Saturated fat:1 g
• Carbohydrates:13 g
• Sugar:7 g
• Fiber:3 g
• Protein:2 g
• Sodium:307 mg
• Cholesterol:0 mg

 

black bean burgers

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/81441/spicy-black-bean-cakes/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=Search&clickId=cardslot%201

As usual, missing several of the ingredients, and wanted to make it not too spicy.

Used 1/2 of a small green pepper with the scallions

Prefer not to use much cumin, so I combined
1 tsp coriander
<1 tsp cocoa chili
<1 tsp chipotle chili

Didn't use sour cream, although it probably would have been good.
Used a squeeze of lime on it, and served with pickled ginger - my favorite! and mustard,
over a bed of spinach and tomatoes.

Good vegetarian dinner - one egg for 8 patties.

Outside crisps in the broiler, but inside is moist.  Used less time than per instructions.

Spicy Black Bean Cakes

These baked black bean cakes are easy to make and less fattening than fried ones.

Recipe by CHRISTINA5362 

 

Updated on December 9, 2022

Prep Time:

 

20 mins

Cook Time:

 

15 mins

Total Time:

 

35 mins

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed

Lime Sour Cream Sauce:

• ½ cup reduced fat sour cream

• 1 small fresh jalapeno pepper, minced

• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

• salt to taste

Bean Cakes:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 4 green onions, thinly sliced

• 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, finely diced

• 6 cloves garlic, pressed

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

• salt and black pepper to taste

• 2 cups grated raw sweet potato

• ½ cup plain dried bread crumbs

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil.

2. Make sauce: Mix together sour cream, jalapeño pepper, lime juice, and salt in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

3. Make cakes: Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir green onions in hot oil until softened, about 1 minute. Stir in jalapeño peppers, garlic, and cumin; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4. Transfer green onion mixture to a large bowl. Stir in black beans; mash with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in sweet potato, bread crumbs, and beaten egg until well combined. Divide mixture into 8 balls, flatten into patties, and place on the prepared baking sheet.

5. Cook under the preheated broiler for 8 to 10 minutes. Turn patties over and continue broiling until crispy, about 3 minutes more. Serve with sauce.

Nutrition Facts 

            

calories219
total fat 7g
saturated fat 2g
cholesterol 29mg
sodium 520mg
total carbohydrate 31g
dietary fiber 9g
total sugars 2g
protein 9g
vitamin c 9mg
calcium 95mg
iron 3mg
potassium 526mg

Bok Choy and Mushrooms over Farro

I’ve recently been delving into the role that inflammation plays in chronic diseases - everything ranging from headaches, fatigue and arthritis to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, irritable bowel and asthma.  

Many aspects of your lifestyle can help decrease inflammation.  There are no magic bullets.  The recommendations are the same as they’ve been for wellness for years:  good nutrition, physical activity, at least 7 hours of sleep, practicing mindfulness, avoiding toxins and good interpersonal relationships.  

For the nutrition part, most important is having a broad variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas and soy products), nuts and seeds.  And making them delicious with herbs and spices.   

Certain vegetables should be included frequently.  These include the dark leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables, the latter meaning cabbage and anything that resembles it.  This would include Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and bok choy.  Also the alliums or aromatics - garlic and onions of all kinds - leeks, scallions, shallots, and chives.  Varying grains is also helpful.  My favorites these days are farro, barley, bulgur and buckwheat.  These can be used as breakfast cereal, as a side dish, or as a base for a salad or stir-fried vegetables.

Here’s a recipe I tossed together this evening, using some of my favorite components.  Feel free to change any of them.  I was very pleasantly surprised with the results.  It’s a complete meal as written, with many of the fiber sources listed above. 

INGREDIENTS:

Farro -Trader Joe’s 8.8 oz Ten minute farro,  or other grain, to make 4 servings

1 Tbsp EVOO

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp chopped or grated ginger

1 pound bok choy, washed and patted dry, stems trimmed, finely chopped

8 oz sliced mushrooms

2 Tbsp unsalted, preferably vegan, butter

2 Tbsp soy sauce

3 scallions finely sliced - some to sauté and some to garnish

1 can (15 oz) Great norther beans (or other beans to your liking)

Toasted sunflower seeds or sesame seeds to cover 

DIRECTIONS:

1) Boil water and cook the grain - TJ’s variety usually takes 6 minutes. 

2) Heat olive oil in pan.

3) Sauté garlic, ginger, scallions and bok choy until greens are wilted

4) Add the butter, soy and mushrooms

5) Add the beans and heat through.

6) Top with seeds of your liking.

Photo 5/7/23

Tofu Scramble

From Love and Lemons  https://www.loveandlemons.com/wprm_print/54516

I made a similar recipe from their Every Day cookbook, called Yellow Squash Turmeric Tofu Scramble, that is essentially the same, with the almond milk mixture, but adds in one small yellow squash and some red pepper; I also added a tomato.  It was very good and very filling, in a whole wheat wrap with avocado and arugula in it and air fried potatoes on the side.  See photo 5/2/23.

Tofu Scramble

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Serves 4 - I was surprised, plenty for 4 people.

This tofu scramble recipe is the ultimate plant-based breakfast! I love to serve it with fresh veggies, sliced avocado, and salsa to take it over the top.

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup almond milk (1/2 cup in the book)
• 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon-extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup diced yellow onion
• 14 ounces extra-firm tofu, patted dry and crumbled
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serving suggestions:

• Tomatoes, salsa or pico de gallo
• Avocado (and lemon wedge) and/or tomatillo salsa verde, or red pepper flakes
• Sauteéd spinach or kale
• Cilantro
• Tortillas

Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk, nutritional yeast, garlic, mustard, turmeric, cumin, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and pinches of salt and pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tofu and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the tofu is thoroughly heated. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the almond milk mixture. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with more salt (I like to add an additional ¼ to ½ teaspoon at this stage) and freshly ground black pepper.
• Serve with veggies, salsa, and tortillas, if desired. See the blog post above for more mix-in and serving suggestions.