Impromptu Mexican spicy black bean soup #vegan style

Hello old friends,

I'm in  desperate need for some time off lately, I'm sure that this time of year you're all feeling the need for rest, relaxation and all day pajamas, I hear ya!  I've been dreaming about my upcoming vacation to Mexico, pretty much counting down the moments until I feel the sand and sun. I've been recovering over the last few weeks from whiplash, after recently being in a car accident. Yes I'm going to completely skip over what happened because luckily nobody was hurt and thankfully it wasn't my fault, but I'm ready for some days off, like 14 of them in a row - at least. 

In the meantime I crave flavors of spicy, smoky and sweet, you know anytime any day I'm ready to enjoy a big bowl of soup so I was super inspired when I whipped this deliciousness up.

I had some black beans I had cooked the day before, yes most of us health nuts actually cook our own beans, it's so much better then opening a can and way healthier. I wanted to do something satisfying, spicy and vegetarian. Soup is the ultimate way to pack vital nutrients into your body and it just happens to also be my favorite thing to cook as you've noticed if you've been following me the last five years. This soup takes roughly 30 minutes and will knock your sox off!


INGREDIENTS:
2 small carrots - fine chop
2 small celery - fine chop
1 large Spanish onion - fine chop
1/2 small butternut squash - fine chop 
4 garlic cloves - minced
black beans - about 1.5 cups or a can
tomato passatta - 1/3 cup 
1 dried guajillo chilies - fine chop
2 dried chili de arbol - fine chop
1L vegetable stock
fresh cilantro stems - 2 tbsp fine chop
dried Mexican oregano - big pinch crumbled
Miguelito - about 1 tbsp
cumin - about 1tsp
smoky paprika - about 1tsp
cinnamon - small pinch
tamarind paste - optional 1-2 tbsp
lime juice - 1-2 limes
Coconut oil - 1-2 tbsp

COOK: 
Sautee the onion in coconut oil, add garlic and continue until translucent then add in the carrot, celery and squash. Cook until everything is soft about 5 -10 mins. Add pasatta, chillies, dry spiced and herbs and continue to cook for another minute then add stock, beans and cilantro. Simmer until veggies have softened then add in the tamarind paste. 

SERVE:
A splash of lime juice and fresh chopped cilantro leaves. 

Monday Moong Dal

 I've literally tried to write this post three times. Sometimes technology isn't our friend and I have to say apple (iphones/computers) really aren't as streamline as you need them to be. For example why isn't there a "command z" short cut on your phone. It would really come in handy and yes I am blaming my phone, partially for not posting this sooner. Anyways as I'm averaging one blog post every three or four months, it seems like I'm due for a recipe. I will not apologize for being such an occasional blogger anymore. I hope you enjoy what I offer up, healthy easy to follow recipes, once in a rare blue moon. This one is the bomb dot com if I do say so myself. It's easy to digest, vegan and excellent for it's anti inflammatory qualities. I created this recipe on some wildly inspired whim a few months back, when I was trying to eat less meat (right now I haven't had meat in almost 2 months - WOAH!). No I'm not going vegan, but I am still on my journey to understanding how to heal my psoriasis. I'll try anything natural. Food is our most powerful medicine or our most perilous poison. What's good for one body can be lethal to another. Right now I'm off meat, diary, gluten, soy, eggs and.... ahh fuck it. I'm happy and I'm feeling good so hopefully my skin will acknowledge that. It's challenging when people invite me over for dinner or  out to a restaurant but I'm just trying to go with the flow. Pushing myself as a chef by limiting my pantry is never a bad thing, I'm always up for a challenge.

Back to the important stuff, the recipe. This warm vegetarian stew uses Indian spices and is some serious comfort food, perfect for the cooler weather coming in. The dish also freezes well, so make extra. You will not be disappointed! 

INGREDIENTS: 
2 cups moong dal (yellow split mung beans)
2 sweet onions - fine chop
4 cloves of garlic - minced 
2 tbs ginger - minced 
1- 2 red bird chilies - fine chop
2 tbs of tomato paste OR 1/2 c. chopped tomatoes
2 tbs cilantro stems - fine chop + leaves to finish
1 can of coconut milk
1L of water or vegetable stock
Tbs coconut oil 
1 tsp cumin
1tsp turmeric
1 tsp mustard seed
1tsp coriander seed
1/2 tsp fenugreek
Celtic sea salt to taste
1/2 lemon - juice (optional)

METHOD: 
Rinse the dal three times, I like to soak them for a few hours but it's not necessary. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger in coconut oil add the chilies and spices then the dal. Add the liquids, tomato, pinch of salt and cilantro stems, then simmer until the lentils are tender, you may need to add more liquids, monitor it. 

TIPS: 
keep ginger in the freezer and grate it in using a microplane, you can also keep the bird chilies in the freezer, one of my favorite cooking hacks. 

SERVE: 
You can add a spritz of fresh lemon once the dish is cooked, some chopped fresh cilantro leaves are nice too. I like to serve with blanched broccoli or wilted greens and a side of brown Jasmin rice.

Make this and let me know if you love it as much as I do. Chow for now!

Frozen Breakfast Bowl for happy bowels

Sorry I couldn't resist. Happy bowels make your day an life better, you know it, even if you won't admit it. This delicious breakfast bowl is filled with antioxidants and best of all it's super easy to make. All you need is frozen fruit, nuts, seeds, dried berries, green powder, and some coconut milk. 

On a trip to Miami in December my friend took me to this awesome juice bar concept called Jugofresh. Although I couldn't really appreciate it at the time - I was desperately hung over and in serious need of a greasy spoon type meal. Not a post workout green healthy type of morning. Any way this place was amazing. A wicked selection of cold pressed juices and elixirs in these super cute mini glass bottles. They also had some interesting sounding dishes that until you have them in front of you are a totally unimaginable. Like a kale and coconut ceviche, raw oatmeals, and the frozen fruit bowl I made today. 

Ingredients: All quantities are approximate

Frozen fruit - 1/3 c. mango, 1/3 c. blueberries, 3 chunks pineapple 

Powder - 1 tsp spirulina & chlorella 

Liquids - 1/3 cup coconut milk, splash cold water & 3 oz seabuckthorn liquid supplement 

Crunchy toppings - goji berries, raw macadamia nuts, pumpkin & sunflower seeds, bee pollen, black chia, and Danielle's coconut chips. 

Blend the fruit and liquid, until it forms a sorbet consistency- I use a Nutribullet. Then top with a sprinkling of crunchies. That easy. You can even make your fruit puree in advance an leave it in the freezer. 

Happy pooping peeps. 

Fattouch salad

Hey guys, Yes I'm blogging about another delicious salad this evening. I posted this pic a few days ago on my Instagram of a Middle Eastern inspired dinner and an old friend asked for the recipe. While I can't give out an exact recipe but i'll let you know what I did to make this yummy meal so you can create your own version of this super satisfying Fattouch salad. 

INGREDIENTS: 
mixed baby greens (kale, chard, spinach, pea sprouts etc...)
green beans (cooked - I used that were simply sauteed with some shallots & garlic)
cherry tomatoes
mushrooms (raw and thinly sliced) 
feta cheese
calipo tuna (packed in olive oil) 
sweet onion (thinly sliced) 
pita chips (with za'atar and thyme) 
fresh mint leaves (rough chopped) 
minced raw garlic (one clove)
lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
dried oregano (pinch) 
pinch of Himalayan sea salt & black pepper 
splash of red wine vinegar 

FOR THE PITA CHIPS: Pre heat oven to 350.
Cut whole wheat pita into triangular strips, drizzle with grape seed oil (or whatever oil you like), add a pinch of sumac, za'atar, dried thyme, salt & pepper. Massage the spice and oil mixture in so that the majority of the pitas are well seasoned. Bake for 5 -10 mins until all the pita chips are well toasted. You will have to check on them and agitate the pan every few minutes so that they toast evenly. 

I promise I'm going to try and post more fresh and easy recipes like this over the summer. I know I've been dragging ass in the posting department. Chow for now yall.

Black Bean Brownies - gluten free

Hello my lovies, 
For weeks my sister has been raving about the DAMY HEALTH website and these black bean brownies that she just can't get enough of. They are gluten free, full of potassium, iron, calcium and seriously satisfy your sweet tooth. These healthy treats are 5 grams of fat, & 120 calories & almost 4 grams of protein. I just love them as a pre or post work out snack.

PREP & BAKE: Pop all your ingredients accept the peanut butter into a blender or cuisinart and blend them up. Pour mixture into a square brownie pan lined with parchment paper then drop a few spoonfuls of room temperature peanut butter on top of the mixture and swirl with a toothpick. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes at 350. Let the brownies cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing. Then cut into 16 pieces. Enjoy!

Healthy Holiday Appetizer - Turkey Roulade

I wanted to wish all my faithful readers who celebrate an early Happy Christmas. I hope you all enjoy some time with your family & friends in good health, enjoying delicious food, and receiving presents that you actually wanted. Here's a wicked little recipe that's not only packed full of healthy and delicious holiday ingredients it's bloody impressive when you serve it.

 

  
With all the holiday temptations popping up around us here's a heart smart and festive hors d'oeuvre that will keep you feeling satisfied this holiday season. By adding some healthy choices to the festivities it will definitely help balance out the bad and keep you on goal ready for the new year.  For a list of some of the health benefits please check out the full post I did for Twenty Toes Fitness (Blog). This app is inspired by one of my favorite French Canadian superstar chefs Ricardo Larrivée.
 

PREP #1: Chop onions, mince garlic, chop herbs. Cover the turkey breast in plastic wrap and pound with a rolling pin or back of a pan until moderately flat. Season with salt and pepper on each side. 

COOK #1: Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until golden, season with salt, add spices and herbs and continue to cook for one minute. Place off to the side and allow everything to cool before combining with cranberries and ground turkey. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

PREP #2: Place seasoned flattened turkey breast on a piece of tin foil, then add small handfuls of the ground turkey filling to create a log shape. Tightly roll the breast around the filling, then roll the tin foil around everything like a candy would be wrapped. You may want to double layer the tin foil to ensure it doesn't break. 

COOK #2: Place rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature you are looking for it to read 74°C (166°F). Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so before unwrapping and slicing (about 1/4 of an inch). 

  

 SERVE: Warm or room temp with a dijon horseradish dip (equal parts of each plus a spoonful of greek yogurt in the mix as well). If you wan to make these ahead of time refrigerate the roll whole, let it sit at room temp for 10 -15 minutes before slicing (serve within three days).

Have a delicious Christmas! xo Jaime aka The Tomato Snob!

Raw vegan dessert alert - cocao peanut snowballs ... that's a mouthful

So here's the deliciousness that went down a few days ago. I believe this is my first blog post about  raw vegan desserts. Really, I just got up to eat one mid blog- not kidding! Just that good! The perfect amount of sweet, they are super satisfying, healthy, oh right...and they're vegan, if you're into that sort of thing.

No official recipe, but here's what I did.
recipe makes about 50

1. Made coconut butter - pulverised shredded unsweetened coconut in my Cuisinart (about 2.5 cups for about 10 minutes. 
2. Softened 1 cup of chopped, pitted dates in a 1/3 cup of hot water, heat until they started to fall apart.
3. Add crunchy natural peanut butter (about 1/2 cup, 1 cup raw cocoa, 1/2 cup maple syrup, date paste, 1 tbs cinnamon, 2 tbs vanilla extract, 3 tbs coconut flower.
4.  Pulse everything together and check that they are able to hold the shape of a ball, they may or may not need more, coconut flower or moisture -- Sorry I'm sharing this after the first time, it was so wonderful I had to share it right away. 
5. Turn out in to a bowl and fold in a handful or two of shredded sweetened coconut.
6. Chill mixture for an hour at least before balling and dust them in powdered sugar. You can do this days in advance or right before serving.  

Check out Twenty Toes Fitness BLOG tomorrow for a healthy - and meaty holiday app with my all time favorite holiday proteins, the mighty bird Turkey. 
- chow for now

Lamb kefta with fennel green apple slaw

This may not be the prettiest dish I've ever written about but sure did it taste good. For the most part when I'm writing a recipe I'm usually just posting about a meal that I made spontaneously and it happened to be worth reporting on. Yes there are the times where I plan a post and stage a photograph but this just isn't one of those instances.

INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE KETFA: 
1 pound New Zealand spring lamb - ground
1 medium cooking onion - diced
2 cloves garlic - minced
pinch of cumin
pinch of sumac
pinch of paprika
small handful parsley - chopped
1 egg
about 1/4 cup almond meal
evoo - extra virgin olive oil 

PREP: Sautee the onion & garlic in a drizzle of evoo until translucent add spices & a pinch of s&p and continue to cook for a minute or two. Place off to the side to cool. When mixture has cooled add chopped parsley, almond meal, egg a pinch of s&p. Rub your hands with evoo before portioning off individual keftas. Shape into cigar shape.  Pre heat oven to 350.
COOK: Heat a cast iron pan and drizzle a small amount of evoo before searing off the keftas until slightly charred on all sides. Transfer the pan into the oven and continue to cook for 5-7 mins until the keftas are cooked through.

FOR THE SLAW:
fennel - julienned 
green apple - julienned
purple cabbage - julienned
green cabbage - julienned
cucumber - ribbons
mint - gently tear leaves
basil - gently tear leaves
FOR THE DRESSING: 
apple cider vinegar 
apple butter, 
dijon mustard
evoo 

PREP:  Chop & slice all veg. In a small glass jar combine 1 tsp apple butter, 1tsp dijon mustard, 4 tbs apple cider vinegar, 1/3 cup (or so) evoo and pinch of s&p. Toss everything together. 
Enjoy!