SUPER Greens (my favorite salad mix)

March 30, 2015 3:07pm. @FoodNetwork started following me (@tastykaitis) on Twitter!!!!!! 

I can't even explain how SUPER I feel writing this! Food Network is like... my LIFE! I've seen just about every episode of every show, buy the magazines when I have the cash to spare, and am constantly on the site to see what's new and find some recipes to veganize for me and you.  I've dreamt my whole life to have my own show on the Food Network! (Ask my parents... I used to talk through my steps in the kitchen with everything from making cereal to veggie chowder!  ... I may or may not still do it -- and yes I'm almost 27!) :-D

While I took some time to reflect on the excitement of my day... I wanted to make sure I remembered every detail... I realized that I spent the morning prepping my homemade salad bar, complete with my SUPER Greens Salad Mix!!! 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who goes to the grocery store salad bar more than 2xs a week. I know I'm not! I see the same people 4-7 times a week at the salad bar! But do you know how expensive it really is?! Food Network Magazine did an "In the Know" article back in 2011 (yup, this one stuck with me!) called Shop the Salad Bar. It showed just how much your average grocery store marks-up the items on a salad bar (at $5.99/lb... Whole Foods- near me at least is $8.99/lb) is MIND BLOWING!!!!  The mark-up on chickpeas... 386%!!!! (and that article was from 2011... who knows if this has gone up over the past few years!)

The thing that SUCKS is that the items that are the most bargain items on the bar... tend to be the ones that aren't vegan/vegetarian friendly.  

Like Bacon.......................... And Cheese! :-(  (See all the findings here from the article here: Salad Bar Math) 

So... I started making my own salad bar at home! One day(more like an hour depending on how many veggies you have)+Veggies+mandoline= Salad Bar for the WEEK! For less than it would cost you to buy your salad for the week. Plus you get to decide what you put on your salad... you don't fall subject to the sadness that ensues when the grocery store swaps out one of your favorites for... Hard Boiled Eggs (Bleccchhhh!)

Grape Tomatoes, Red Bell Pepper, Fennel, Onion, Celery, Cucumber, Mushrooms and Carrots (Not Pictured: Peas, Baby
Corn, Microgreens, Beets, Kalamata Olives, Hummus, Quinoa, Farro, Wheatberries, Kamut, Harissa, etc!)

I'm sharing with you my "recipe" for SUPER Greens. What makes them super? Well... It's a mix of 4 of the Top 10 Most Nutrient Dense Foods (see: Dr.Fuhrman's List Explained for details) and it's chopped up so that you can enjoy the benefits of being about to eat lots of greens and actually feel full until dinner. 

1 pkg Baby Spinach & Arugula

8 leaves Kale, stemmed and roughly chopped (I like Lacinto best)

16 Brussel Sprouts, sliced about 1/8" (use a mandoline for uniformity)

Dump all of the spinach and arugula into a huge mixing bowl. Add in sliced sprouts and chopped kale. 

With the leaves all still intact, the mix is pretty voluminous... But wait... I'm going to fit it all back into the spinach/arugula
box!  WITH ROOM TO SPARE!!

Take a pizza cutter and cut the greens by rolling the cutter throughout the bowl over and over until everything is chopped and mixing into itself.

You'll notice that the mix takes up a lot less of the bowl... Scoop it out and store the mix back into the package for the spinach and arugula.  What was once full is now...

NOT!

Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Now for the Veggies: 

I used my mandoline for all my veggies except tomatoes (mostly bc I love tomatoes and nothing beats biting into a juicy tomato!)

Store water dense veggies in water (celery, cucumber, carrots... think of what veggies sit in water on the salad bar) in the fridge. I don't put my onions in water because it tends to leach the onion flavor. 

With everything else stick them in a tupperware in the fridge. When you have everything on hand, already prepped, tossing a salad together is a cinch!(pun ABSOLUTELY intended) 

With all the nutrients you get from these SUPER Greens and from raw veggies in general... You can have a SUPER day like me!!!* 

*Results not guaranteed :-)

I feel as though this post needs to be dedicated to a friend of mine from college... Not necessarily because he loves salad, but because he is known to most as SUPER Mario! :-) "This just in... You're Super!!!" hehehe

Breakfast Sammies

Breakfast.  Let's be honest... Not exactly the most vegan friendly meal to get on the go.  If you go to a typical restaurant or diner for breakfast chances are you can have toast/bagel with jam or plain, hashbrowns (if they aren't cooked in butter), fruit, and maybe oatmeal (if it's not cooked with milk).  Personally. That sounds LAME! Why can't vegans have the same REAL breakfast options with some protein or at least some substance?

How much do you love that mug!? hehe

Not to worry! I've got you covered! All this week I have been on a breakfast sandwich kick. My mornings have been so packed with protein! My carnivore friends should be jealous. Delicious sandwiches, with all (or more) protein and none of the cholesterol! Just to show you how quick and easy breakfast on the go can be, here are a few combination to make your own vegan breakfast sammies!

For All Sammies I used:

Rudi's Organic Whole Wheat English Muffins

Extra Firm Tofu (sliced 1/4"-1/8" thick and pressed between paper towels to remove moisture)

Earth Balance Soy Free Margarine

Nutritional Yeast

Salt and Pepper

Tumeric/Onion Powder/Granulated Garlic -optional

Sriracha (I love a little kick in the morning!)

For my "Meat" (pick your favorite):

gardein Breakfast Patty

Lightlife "Fakin Bacon" (tempeh bacon)

Extras (all are optional pick you favorite or a combination of the below):

Daiya Cheddar slices

Sautéed Spinach

Sautéed Mushrooms

Tomato Slices

Sautéed Onions

How much easier could this be? 

In a large pan over medium heat, put 2 tsp of canola oil on one part of the pan.  Put your breakfast patty or tempeh bacon there. 

On another part of the pan, add some Earth Balance, put your slice of tofu. Season tofu with salt and pepper and onion powder/granulated garlic and a SLIGHT SPRINKLE of tumeric--its here for it's color and is totally optional!

If you want any of the sautéed veggies, add them to the pan with a little Earth Balance and season. (1 pan meal! That's why I said a LARGE PAN!!) Flip your tempeh bacon/breakfast patty and your tofu at about the same time. 

Toast your English muffin (or toast or bagel). If you are using the Daiya, put it on the breakfast patty after you start your toast.

Once that toaster pops, you're ready to assemble.  Butter your toast, on the bottom put your "meat", top with tofu, and finally your veggies. Sprinkle your top toast with some nutritional yeast and you are set! If you're not on the run, serve with sliced tomato or avocado and a potato hash/Hashbrowns.  

Hash Browns

A(nother) "Ode to Potatoes"!

If you've been following me for a while you know by now... I LOVE POTATOES... In fact, one of my first ever posts to my blog mentioned a story about the extent of my potato love.  Did you miss that one? Let's see if I can re-enact it for you...

"Anyway, like I was sayin', I love the potato. You can mash it, boil it, roast it, bake it, fry it. Dey's uh, baked potato, mashed potatoes, potato au gratin. Hash browns, home fries, tater tots. There's french fries, potato chips, scalloped potatoes, potato soup, potato chowder, potato pierogi, potato salad, potato pancakes, hasselback potatoes, twice baked potatoes, potato skins. That- that's about it."  (did you get the movie reference?)

Yeah... That ACTUALLY happened... maybe not exactly word for word in that order, but I did ramble on about all the ways you can cook potatoes! Why do I love potatoes so much? Seriously? DUH it's because potatoes are super versatile and you can eat them for every meal! (except maybe dessert... but then, there's sweet potatoes for that!)  Potatoes are like the French Manicure of food... they go with everything! 

ANYWAYS.... One of my favorite things to have for breakfast is a super crispy hash brown dipped in sriracha-ketchup. I used to have an issue with eating breakfast because I'd feel so sick afterwards... turns out it had to do with too much fruit/veggie acid in my stomach, but potatoes were a way to combat that! So I've been on a quest to create the best homemade hashbrowns and I've finally mastered them! 

(so much that this -----------------------------> was actually my breakfast one morning.. 2 gardein breakfast patties, a small batch of homefries and a huge hashbrown w/ sriracha ketchup) It was glorious.

So today's post is to give you my recipe for that large and crispy hashbrown at the top of my plate. I've now made these hashbrowns for my dad and sister and both love how crispy they are and how they aren't bland and boring.

To make these hashbrowns (small, about 2-inch diameter):

4 small-medium russet potatoes, peeled
1/4 small onion (optional)*
canola oil
s&p / any other seasoning you may like (you should try cajun! yum)

On a box grater, shred the potatoes on the small grating side. *if using onion, shred it as well

Soak the shredded potatoes in a bowl of cool water for 5 minutes.  Drain off water, pressing the potatoes to drain off all of the liquid. 

Add more water to the bowl and let the potatoes sit.

Heat about a turn of the pan of oil in a large pan over medium high heat.

Take a small handful of the potato shreds (and a pinch of the shredded onion if using) and mix it in your hand and roll into a ball.  Over the sink, squeeze the ball into a flat pancake, squeezing out as much water as possible.  Carefully place into the hot oil, and repeat until pan is full.

While the hashbrowns are in the pan, use your spatula to press down on them. (I've found not doing this results in a higher chance of the inner potatoes being raw.)  Season with salt and pepper (and/or other seasoning) and flip when the edges start to deepen in color. Cook until both sides are golden brown.

Drain on a paper towel sprinkle with salt and serve while hot!

How easy is that?! It's is important not to skip the soaking part of this recipe.  Soaking the potato shreds helps to remove all of the potato starch which will help your hashbrowns to achieve the super crispy exterior!

Tasty Travels- Sticky Fingers Sweets and Eats

If you follow my Facebook (if you don't... why not?!) you may have seen that I started a new photo album of all of the foods I've eaten when I travel.  I decided this was a good way to share not only my pictures but also to let you know of vegan places all around.  

Classic TLT

Peanut Butter Pie (mini and out of this world!)

For example, one place I frequent here in the DC area is Sticky Fingers.  They are a vegan bakery and cafe in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of DC (Literally like a block from the Columbia Heights metro on the green line) and they are the only place I have found in this area that does VEGAN DONUTS! Yup, Tuesdays and Thursdays their bakery produces a TON of donuts.  Everything from your standard Cinnamon Sugar and Vanilla Glazed to flavors like ESPRESSO GLAZED w/ chocolate (Hands down my favorite) and PB filled with Jelly and even cranberry ginger!  On top of donuts, they are also knockin out some great milkshakes, sandwiches, soups, and more! 

Here's their address in case you're in the DC area and want to visit them! 

• 1370 Park Rd NW

• Washington, District of Columbia 20010

Soup de Jour: Sweet Potato and an Asian Wrap

(I just realized I raved about the donuts and DO-NUT have any pictures of them... haha see what I did there.. I'm a dork.  Oh well just another excuse to go back and get more!)

** UPDATE I FOUND A PIC!!!**

Tiramisu Filled Donut: Chocolate filling, espresso glaze YUM!

Biscuits

I've been feelin' a bit homesick for the rolling bluegrass pastures, the shockingly sweet tea in every restaurant and home, the bourbon, the home cookin', the genuine southern hospitality, the slow pace, and especially the accents of "My Old Kentucky Home".  I will get my fix later this month but until then... How about some biscuits?

In the south, Biscuits are a serious staple.  Starting at a young age girls would hear, "No man wants to marry a woman who can’t make a decent biscuit," from the matriarchs of their families.  Breakfast, lunch or dinner can be served on them... What's not to love about a tender, flaky, hot from the oven biscuit? 

This biscuit recipe is one for quick, in-a-pinch biscuits... Literally takes more time to heat up the oven than to make and bake these yummy biscuits and you can make a bunch of small nuggets or about 3 big ol' biscuits with this one.

1 2/3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 TBS Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2/3 cup Non-Dairy Milk (I used cashew milk today)
1/3 cup canola oil or melted Earth Balance

Preheat the oven to 475.  Grease a baking sheet.  Wait for a few minutes so the oven has a few extra minutes to get started so your biscuit dough doesn't sit and wait for long.

Mix together the Flour, Salt, and Baking Powder until combined.

Stir in milk and oil/butter.  Dough will come together but will be very sticky.

Drop either a heaping tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet about an inch and a half apart Or use a large serving spoon to create larger biscuits. 

Bake for 8-12 minutes (depending on the size) until the tops are golden brown.  Serve hot with gravy or apple butter/jam. Let cool and store in a ziplock bag for a breakfast sandwich the next day!

I'll be back soon Kentucky... until then:

"Weep no more, my lady,

Oh weep no more today!

I will sing one song for my old Kentucky home,

For my old Kentucky home far away."

A Scrambled Casserole

Breakfast/Brunch is one of my favorite meals but let's be honest... it's not exactly the most vegan friendly meal when it comes to dining out.  Today is Easter Sunday and a lot of people celebrate with a big family brunch which means lots of eggs/egg dishes.  Well I've got a great eggless brunch dish for you. 

I personally like it better than what I remember about scrambled eggs.  The texture is similar to that of scrambled eggs and it's combined with all kinds of breakfast yummies like tempeh bacon and hash browns!!

Here’s the recipe!

1 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil

1 Red bell pepper diced

1 Yellow bell pepper diced

1 (6oz) package of Tempeh Bacon, chopped

1 Block firm tofu

½ Cup chopped green onions

½ Cup Daiya shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 Large russet potatoes, washed, grated, and rinsed OR 1 (16oz) bag frozen hash browns
1 tsp. Garlic powder
1 tsp. Onion powder
1 tsp Turmeric

Pre-heat the oven to 420º F.

Pat the block of tofu dry and slice it into 4 equal pieces. 

Using a paper towel or lined kitchen towel, press the tofu firmly to remove moisture. 

Working over a large mixing bowl, crumble the tofu using your fingers. Add the vegan cheese, garlic powder, turmeric, green onions and onion powder.

In a skillet heat the olive oil and add the tempeh bacon and peppers, stirring until the peppers are slightly browned. 

Add the peppers and tempeh to the tofu mixture.

Using the same skillet get the high heat oil hot and add the potatoes. 

Stir the potatoes constantly without pressing down on them until they are browned. 

Add them to the tofu mixture and stir gently until well incorporated. 

Distribute the mixture evenly into a 13x9” baking pan.**  Bake for 20 minutes or until it’s hot.

**You can make this dish ahead of time to this point, cover with foil, refrigerate overnight, and bake it in the morning.

I like to top this with more chopped green onions, ketchup, old bay, or even some sriracha! Enjoy!