Broccoli-Chickpea Bow Ties

3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 squirt Tobasco
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus additional olive oil, for drizzling
1 head broccoli, chopped into bite-size bits
1/4 teaspoon salt & pepper to taste
1 (15 ounces) can or 2 cups chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups penne pasta
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp dried dill weed
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Put on water to boil. When boiling, drop in pasta and cook until al dente. Steam broccoli bits for 5 minutes, or until no longer crunchy.

Cook garlic, dill, salt and pepper in olive oil in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes.

Add broccoli, chickpeas, nutritional yeast and lemon juice and cook until heated through. Mix pasta and a few more drizzles of olive oil in with broccoli mixture.

Food/exercise log - April 27th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- chickpea-broccoli-garlic pasta
- raw organic carrots
- apple

Snacks:
- 4 cups green tea
- blue corn chips
- ginger granola

Dinner:
- portobello steaks
- strawberry-orange spinach salad
- shitake quinoa pilaf
- red wine

Exercise: 20 minutes yoga (Urban Living AM), 45 minutes walking (2 miles), 35 minutes weight-lifting (10-25 lb. sets)

Portobello Mushroom Steaks w/ Quinoa Pilaf & Fruity Spinach Salad

Portobello Mushroom Steaks

3 portobello mushroom caps
1 heaping tsp miso
1/2 tsp chipotle-pepper-in-adobo puree
1 drizzle dark sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp nutritional yeast flakes
3-4 drops liquid smoke
1 Tbsp black sesame seeds

Clean the mushroom caps and lay them in a baking dish. Mix all other ingredients except for the sesame seeds in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Smear the miso mixture on top of the mushroom caps. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake, covered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until caps are cooked through.

Quinoa Pilaf

1/2 cup quinoa
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 veg bouillon cube
1 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 handful shitake mushrooms, crumbled

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer vigorously for 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff and serve.

Fruity Spinach Salad

1/2 bag spinach leaves
4-5 strawberries, cut into small pieces
1/2 can mandarin oranges
1 handful roasted soy nuts
1 handful pecans, crushed
2 Tbsp mandarin orange juice, from the can
1 large squirt honey mustard

Combine spinach, berries, nuts and oranges in a bowl. Mix together orange juice and honey mustard to form dressing. Serve!

Food/exercise log - April 26th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- spicy papaya salad
- kitchari
- raw organic carrots
- pear

Snacks:
- 4 cups green tea
- dates, pecans and almonds

Dinner:
- chickpea-broccoli-garlic pasta
- strawberries & pineapple

Exercise: 45 minutes yoga (Crunch fat-burning yoga)

Food/exercise log - April 25th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- macaroni & peas
- pear
- raw organic carrots

Snacks:
- 3 cups green tea
- dates and pecans

Dinner:
- portobello-pine nut-phyllo strata
- apple

Exercise: 45 minutes weight lifting (10-25 lb. sets)

Broccoli & Gluten w/ Peanut Sauce & Quinoa

I've had this recipe idea in the back of my head for ages, and tonight I finally made it (we needed something fast, and we happened to have leftover broccoli in the fridge). It was gobbled up almost instantly... very filling, tasty and packed chock full of protein! I didn't have enough broccoli, so I threw in mushrooms and frozen peas, as well.

1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 can braised wheat gluten bits, drained and rinsed
4-5 mushrooms, sliced thinly (optional)
2 Tbsp veggie broth
2/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup veggie broth
Peanut Sauce

Combine the 2/3 cups water and broth and bring to a boil. Drop the quinoa in and let cook over medium-high heat until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. Meanwhile, steam the broccoli and mushrooms in 2 Tbsp veggie broth. Make the peanut sauce. Add the wheat gluten and 1 Tbsp peanut sauce to the broccoli/mushroom mixture, and cook until heated through.

Serve the broccoli/gluten mixture over the quinoa, and top each serving generously with more peanut sauce.

Peanut Sauce

A good peanut sauce should be in everyone's culinary repertoire. It's so easy, so satisfying and such a show-stopper. Note: All amounts in this recipe are approximate. You'll need to taste and adjust as needed.

1/2 cup peanut butter (preferably natural)
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp lime juice
a few splashes orange juice, coconut milk and/or water, as needed

Optional:
1/2 tsp red curry paste or hot chili sauce
1 Tbsp coconut milk
a few drops dark sesame oil

Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic powder, honey, curry powder, lime juice, sesame oil & curry paste together in a bowl. Stir vigorously to combine, adding liquid of your choice as needed to thin the mixture to a workable consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings (I like mine sweet-tart, spicy and heavy on the curry). Mine is usually intense and thick when it's done... I have to shake the spoon to drip it onto whatever I'm eating it with.

This also makes a fabulous dip for raw veggies... almost *anything* tastes better with peanut sauce on it. It will keep indefinitely in the fridge.

Food/exercise log - April 20th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- spinach/mushroom enchilada
- sweet potato black bean hash
- banana
- raw organic carrots

Snacks:
- green tea (4 cups)
- raw organic carrots
- dates & pecans
- date coconut roll (I was hungry!)

Dinner:
- peanut-sauced gluten, broccoli, mushrooms & peas
- quinoa

Exercise: 30 minutes yoga (Urban Living AM), 45 minutes weight-lifting (10-25 lb. sets)

Food/exercise log - April 19th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- red beans
- Creole okra, tomatoes & corn
- toasted pita bread
- pear

Snacks:
- green tea (4 cups)
- banana
- fruit leather

Dinner:
- sweet potato black bean hash
- baked plantains

Exercise: 30 minutes yoga (Urban Living AM), 40 minutes yoga (Power Yoga - Intermediate Strength & Balancing)

Baked Zesty Plantains

I always loved fried plantains in restaurants, but I'd never thought to make them at home until a vegan blog (sorry, I don't remember which one!) mentioned having them with black beans. I drooled, I fantasized, I set out to make these. Plus, organic plantains are cheap! Cheaper than bananas! We had this with Black Bean Sweet Potato Hash, and I think I'm going to need to go get some more. Fabulous!

2 ripe (mostly black) plantains
2 Tbsp coconut rum
2 Tbsp lime juice
canola oil spray
dash salt

Spray a baking dish liberally with canola oil. Peel the plantains, slice them lengthwise and cut into pieces a few inches long. Lay the slices cut side up in the baking dish. Sprinkle with coconut rum and lime juice, then spray the tops liberally with more canola oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt, then cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until browned and smelling so damn good you have to rush out and gobble them up.

Food/exercise log - April 18th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- avocado-hummus sandwich on toasted whole wheat bread
- raw organic carrots
- apple

Snacks:
- green/rooibos tea (4 cups)
- banana
- date coconut roll
- raw organic carrots
- ginger zing granola

Dinner:
- red beans & (brown) rice
- Creole okra, tomatoes & corn

Exercise: 45 minutes weight-lifting (10/15/20/25 lb. sets)

Food/exercise log - April 17th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- curried chickpea-tomato soup
- pita chips
- apple

Snacks:
- soy chai
- banana

Dinner:
- stuffed pasta shells (spinach tofu, and marinara)
- date coconut roll
- red wine

Exercise: 30 minutes yoga (Urban Living AM), 45 minutes yoga (Crunch Fat-Burning Yoga)

Creole Okra, Tomatoes & Corn

A co-worker of mine brought this to our Mardi Gras potluck, and it was surprisingly delicious. Okra is a vegetable I've always been skeptical of (something about the combination of hairy and slimy that turns me off), but this is genuinely delicious. We served this with Red Beans and Rice Deluxe for a killer combination.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp onion powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced mild green chiles, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, juice reserved
1-1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 dash each salt and pepper
1 16-oz. package frozen okra pieces
1 cup frozen corn

Drain the tomatoes and the chiles over a large bowl to catch the juices. Saute the onion powder and garlic in the olive oil until they start to brown, then add the chiles, tomatoes and Cajun seasoning. Cook for 3-5 minutes, then add okra, corn and reserved tomato juice. Cover and cook until heated through and the okra is no longer crunchy.

Red Beans & Rice Deluxe

This recipe was inspired by one at Fat Free Vegan. A revision of the Mardi Gras potluck classic. We had this tonight with Creole okra, tomatoes and corn, and it was so good that the boy actually licked the plate.

2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained
2-1/2 cups boiling water mixed with one veg bouillon cube
1 slice tempeh bacon, crumbled
1 generous handful each:
* red lentils
* texturized vegetable protein
1 Tbsp chipotle-garlic salsa
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp each:
* chipotle-flavored Tobasco
* garlic powder
* Cajun seasoning
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 bay leaves

Combine all ingredients except for the rice in a crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove the bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, puree half the batch to create a thick stew-like texture. Serve over rice.

Cooked brown rice:
- 2/3 cup sweet brown rice
- 1-2/3 cup water
- dash salt
- drizzle of olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat for 30 minutes, or until nice and chewy.

Ingredient Notes: I used Lightlife tempeh bacon and Frontera chipotle salsa here, both of which I found at Campbell's.

Food/exercise log - April 16th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- spinach-mushroom enchiladas w/ tomatoes, olives and cilantro
- banana

Snacks:
- date coconut roll
- coconut-flavored rice crackers
- pickles

Dinner:
- "pink and purple" noodle/tofu/seaweed soup
- red wine

Exercise: 45 minutes weight-lifting (10/15/20/25 lb. sets)

Pink & Purple Asian Noodle Soup

3-1/2 cups water
1 cube bun rieu chay soup base (Vietnamese veg bouillon)
1 small handful dried laver, crumbled (optional)
3 Tbsp diced firm tofu (optional)
1 bundle somen noodles
hot chili sauce to taste (optional)

Put the water, bouillon and laver in a saucepan and heat until boiling. Add the tofu and noodles and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the noodles are soft. Season each serving to taste with hot chili sauce.

Ingredient Notes: I got all these ingredients at the Double Dragon Asian Market on 2nd Avenue for a combined total of less than $10. The resulting soup was filling, extremely tasty and it took less than 5 minutes to throw together.

Food/exercise log - April 15th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- black bean soup in a bread bowl

Snacks:
- soy chai
- date coconut roll
- banana

Dinner:
- spicy gluten w/ rice vermicelli, carrots & cucumber
- Thai iced tea

Food/exercise log - April 14th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- avocado/hummus sandwich
- tomato soup
- banana
- fruit salad

Snacks:
- rooibos/green tea (5 cups)
- raw organic carrots
- granola

Dinner:
- sweet potato red bean chili
- steamed broccoli
- date coconut roll

Exercise: 45 minute walk (2 miles)

Food/exercise log - April 13th

Breakfast:
- fruit-nut muesli and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- baked beans
- curried chickpea-tomato soup
- fruit salad
- whole wheat roll
- chips and salsa
- lemon pudding w/ ricemellow creme & flaked coconut

Snacks:
- rooibos/green tea (3 cups)
- jellybeans (1 small handful)
- dark chocolate (1 piece)
- banana
- ginger granola

Dinner:
- spinach-mushroom enchiladas w/ tomatoes, olives and cilantro
- dates & pecans

Exercise: 35 minutes yoga (Crunch Joy of Yoga)

Lemon Meringue Pudding

What can I say? The local health food store had rice-mellow creme on sale (it is delicious, by the way), and we had an Easter potluck at work. The fates aligned.

1 box silken firm tofu (the vacuum-packed kind)
1 package Mori-Nu Mates lemon creme pudding mix
4 Tbsp roasted coconut juice OR soy milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
a few drops lemon essential oil (optional)
1/2 tub rice-mellow creme
flaked unsweetened coconut
jellybeans

Blend the tofu, pudding mix and coconut juice/soy milk with a hand blender until smooth. Add the lemon juice & essential oil to taste (I like mine a little tart). Transfer to a glass bowl. In another bowl, whip the rice-mellow creme with a little water until it can be easily spread across the top of the pudding. Sprinkle coconut on top and arrange jellybeans attractively on top of that.

Curried Chickpea Tomato Soup

With my last batch of Potato Scones, I froze some of the unbaked scones by wrapping them in Saran Wrap and then sticking them in a Ziploc bag. I forgot to defrost them before starting this soup, so I just popped them straight onto a baking sheet and baked them for 30 minutes at 375. They didn't rise very well, but they were still damned addictive.

16 oz. (1/2 box) Imagine creamy tomato soup
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 heaping teaspoon mild curry paste OR curry powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 dash each liquid smoke and chipotle Tobasco (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a soup pot and simmer on low for 15 minutes, or until heated through.

Food/exercise log - April 12th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- sweet potato red bean chili
- raw organic carrots
- apple

Snacks:
- rooibos/green tea (5 cups)
- date coconut roll
- raw organic carrots
- granola
- passion fruit bat smoothie

Dinner:
- curried chickpea-tomato soup
- potato scones
- lemon pudding w/ ricemellow creme & flaked coconut
- red wine (1 glass)

Exercise: 30 minute walk (around the block), 35 minutes weight-lifting (10/15/20 lb. sets)

Food/exercise log - April 11th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- soba w/ tofu, gluten and tomatoes
- coconut rice crackers
- pear

Snacks:
- rooibos/green tea (5 cups)
- date coconut roll

Dinner:
- pasta w/ garbanzo beans, tomatoes, garlic & dill
- crystallized ginger (2 pieces)
- red wine (1 glass)

Exercise: 35 minutes yoga (Crunch Joy of Yoga)

Food/exercise log - April 10th

-------------------------------------------------

4/10/06

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- soyrizo burrito w/ black beans, wild rice, salsa and guacamole

Snacks:
- rooibos tea (3 cups)
- banana spring roll
- date coconut roll

Dinner:
- soba w/ tofu, gluten and tomatoes
- red wine (1 glass)

Exercise: 20 minute walk (around the block), 20 minutes yardwork (vigorous weeding)

Food/exercise log - April 6th

Breakfast:
- fruit-nut muesli w/ soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- sweet potato-red bean-tempeh chili
- rice chips & salsa
- pear

Snacks:
- rooibos/green tea (3 cups)
- coconut-date roll
- black sesame/rice crisps w/ hummus

Dinner:
- lentil tostadas w/ soy cheese, tomato, avocado, salsa & cilantro
- hard cider (1)

Exercise: 30 minutes yoga (Urban Living AM), 10 minute walk, 55 minutes yoga (Urban Living daily)

Total Exercise for April: 310 minutes

Veggie Pot Pie w/ Potato Scone Topping

1 small head broccoli, chopped into florets
1 small sweet potato, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup each frozen peas and corn
pepper
2 batches of Cashew Gravy, made with a little curry powder
1 batch Potato Scone dough

Chop the broccoli and sweet potato. Steam the broccoli on the stove for 5-10 minutes, or until tender. Meanwhile, place the sweet potato and a little water in a microwaveable dish and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until tender. Drain and mix with the garlic, peas and corn in a pie dish. Season with pepper.

Make the cashew gravy according to directions and pour over the vegetables. Put together the potato scone dough and flatten it into a circle roughly the size of the pie plate. Lay the potato topping on top of the pie and spray with baking spray (or brush with olive oil).

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the topping is cooked through.

Food/exercise log - April 5th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- guacamole & hummus on a toasted hoagie
- zucchini-quinoa-tomato soup

Snacks:
- rooibos/green tea (5 cups)
- apple
- dark chocolate w/ chilis (1/2 piece)

Dinner:
- veggie pot pie w/ potato scone topping
- roasted coconut juice
- red wine (1 glass)

Exercise: 15 minutes yoga (Crunch energizer), 45 minutes weight-lifting (10/15/20/lb. sets)

Total Exercise for April: 215 minutes

Portobello Steaks w/ Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Portobello Steaks

Boy, do I love me those packs of 4 portobello mushroom caps that our local CostCo carries. If you love mushrooms even the slightest bit, this recipe is a no-brainer.

2 portobello mushrooms caps, stems trimmed
2 Tbsp steak sauce (as noted below, I prefer Pickapeppa sauce)
salt & pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 drizzle dark sesame oil
1-2 drops each liquid smoke & chipotle Tobasco
1-2 Tbsp black sesame seeds

Redhydrate the sun-dried tomatoes by setting them in a covered bowl of boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, mince the garlic and let it sit in a mixture of the olive and sesame oils plus the liquid smoke and Tobasco while you prepare everything else.

Clean and trim the mushroom caps. Lay the mushroom caps in the bottom of a baking dish. Brush each cap with the steak sauce, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the oil/garlic mixture over them. Sprinkle each cap with black sesame seeds.

Cover with foil and bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked all the way through. Serve over...

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

4-5 Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and cut into bite-size chunks
water to cover
1 veg bouillon cube
1/3 cup plain soy creamer, or as needed
3 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp garlic powder
a hefty sprinkle nutritional yeast (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes, water and bouillon for 20 minutes, or until very soft. Drain and mash with the remaining ingredients until seasoned to taste. Finish the pureeing job with a hand blender, if desired.

Savory Chickpea Relish

Making cauliflower curry last night, I was hit by just how much I love Pickapeppa sauce. I had never even heard of it until I checked out Crescent Dragonwagon's The Passionate Vegetarian from the local library. And hoo boy, am I glad I decided to pick some up at the store. Since I'm obsessed with tamarind, it's no surprise that I love it so much.

So last night I had some leftover chickpeas from a gargantuan can of them we bought at Sam's, and it hit me like a train... wouldn't it be great if I mixed chickpeas with Pickapeppa sauce... and some pickle relish, maybe?... and stuffed it into warm pita bread? Heaven! Lunch today revealed that it is, indeed, a divinely inspired flavor combination.

1 cup (1/2 can) cooked chickpeas, drained
1-2 Tbsp Pickapeppa sauce
1-2 tsp sweet pickle relish
a hefty sprinkle each:
- curry powder
- nutritional yeast (optional)
pita bread

Mix the chickpeas, Pickapeppa, relish, curry powder and nut. yeast together and let sit overnight. Lightly toast the pita bread in your office's kitchen toaster, stuff with chickpea mixture and delight!

Food/exercise log - April 4th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- chickpeas and pickle relish w/ Pickapeppa sauce
- toasted pita bread
- pear

Snacks:
- rooibos tea (5 cups)
- kitchari w/ chopped dates
- ginger-peanut chew

Dinner:
- portobello steaks w/ garlic mashed potatoes
- roasted coconut juice
- red wine (1 glass)
- dark chocolate w/ chilis (1 piece)

Exercise: 45 minutes weight-lifting (10/15/20/lb. sets)

Total Exercise for April: 200 minutes

I wasn't having the best time coping last night, so I quit after one 10-lb. set of dumbell rows to cuddle with the boy on the couch and watch Boston Legal and consume red wine with dark chocolate. Sometimes you've just gotta give yourself a break, you know?

Food/exercise log - April 3rd

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- macaroni & peas w/ 'cheeze' sauce
- apple

Snacks:
- rooibos tea (2 cups)
- green tea (2 cups)
- kitchari w/ chopped dates
- ginger-peanut chew

Dinner:
- caulifower-potato-pea curry w/ red lentils & quinoa
- hard cider (1)

Exercise: 15 minutes yoga (Crunch Yoga Energizer), 20 minutes yoga (Intermediate Yoga for Dummies)

Total Exercise for April: 155 minutes

Food/exercise log - April 2nd

Breakfast:
- Malt-o-meal w/ apricot honey and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- papaya salad w/ tomatoes, green beans and peanuts

Snacks:
- soy chai (1 cup)
- rice crackers w/ peanuts (1 bag)

Dinner:
- kitchari (rice-lentil porridge w/ coconut milk & spices)
- red wine (1 glass)

Exercise: 35 minutes vigorous leaf raking, 45 minutes yoga + weight-lifting (10/15/20 lb sets w/ free-form yoga)

Total Exercise for March: 1545 minutes