Easy wrap

Today’s lunch: baked tofu, sundried tomato & basil hummus, lettuce and tomatoes and basil from my garden, on a whole wheat tortilla. The tomato at the bottom of the pic is a “black cherry” variety that is super sweet!

Pesto pasta w/ zucchini & peas

This turned out so nicely. Used the pesto recipe from Veganomicon, whole wheat noodles, and zucchini from my garden.

Chickpea, Rice & Tabouli Salad

Chickpea, Rice & Tabouli Salad
3/4 c cooked black or brown rice (black rice = more antioxidants!)
3/4 c cooked garbanzo beans
3/4 c tabouli
2 large carrots, peeled, diced
1 c sugar snap peas
1 c green beans, snapped
1/2 c marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1 small cucumber, chopped

I steamed the carrots, snap peas, and green beans for about a minute and then ran them under cold water before adding (I like how it releases the sugars, but it’s not really necessary). You may want to chill for a while before serving.
Serves 4-6.

Black bean & kale quesadilla

Truly simple — kinda like making a grilled cheese, just with a few extra ingredients.

Ingredients:
2 whole wheat tortillas
6 large kale leaves, de-stemmed and shredded/chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
cumin to taste (I used about 2 tsp)
chili pepper to taste (I used about 1 tsp)
diced garlic to taste (I used about 1 tsp)
fat-free refried black beans (you’ll need about 1/4 of a can or so, per quesadilla - about 4 oz or 1/2 cup)
Daiya shredded dairy-free cheddar cheese (optional)
Salsa, cilantro, guacamole — optional but delicious (for topping your quesadilla)

Method:
Warm up a flat-bottomed pan over medium heat, then spritz with a little olive or canola oil. Add your onions and saute until transluscent. Add the garlic and stir, then add kale and saute until tender. If you like a lot of cilantro flavor and you have some to spare, you can toss some chopped cilantro in there at the end. Spread a layer of refried black beans on one side of a tortilla. Once your kale & onions are done, scoop them out of the pan into a bowl and set aside. Wipe your pan & spritz with oil again. Place the tortilla without the beans on it into the pan and sprinkle with the Daiya if you’re using it, then top with the kale mixture. Gently place the black-bean tortilla on top. Cook until the bottom tortilla is browned to your liking. Place a plate over the top and hold in place with one hand while flipping the pan upside-down with the other hand. You’ll have the quesadilla on your plate. Spritz the pan with a tiny bit more oil and gently slide the quesadilla back into the pan, uncooked side down. Cook until nicely browned, then serve topped with salsa, guac, cilantro, mole sauce, enchilada sauce, or nothing at all.

Cilantro

Cilantro! I love it. It makes all my stirfries much nicer. I would love to have a constant supply but haven’t had that much luck growing it so far.