persimmon beat couscous

recipe

serves 2

1/4 cup couscous

a few dried persimmons

1 beet

1 carrot

1 tbl agave nectar or maple syrup

1. bring beet and carrot to boil 

2. mean while, cook couscous according to package directions

3. when couscous is done, fluff with a fork and add the agave or maple syrup

4. when beet and carrots are done, remove from pot. wash off skin of beet, and chop both. 

4. mix vegetables with couscous. the beet will turn the couscous pink!

5. throw a few dried persimmons on top so everything looks fancy.

kiwi adzuki coconut rice

lunch time!

adzuki beans are japanese, and often used in desserts because of their slightly sweet flavor. find them in asian grocery stores. they are also a continuation on my theme of love of purple food. enjoy.

kiwi adzuki coconut rice

1 cup cooked brown basmati rice (1/3 c dry yields 1 cup cooked)

1 cup cooked adzuki beans

1 kiwi chopped

1/4 c chopped cilantro

2.5 tbl unsweetened shredded coconut 

-toss together!

p.s. you may notice that this picture is surprisingly good while many of my other photos are surprisingly bad. this is a result of ryan (boyfriend) kindly suggesting i not take my own pictures anymore. he says it makes my very delicious food look...not so delicious.  we'll see....

molasses tofu and roasted vegetable couscous with harissa

molasses is awesome! delicious and nutritionally dense, it is full of iron and calcium. i really don't use it enough. 

i know vegetable couscous is one of those entrees at a restaurant you were begrudgingly dragged to that is the only vegan option, but i'm pretty successful at managing to avoid those scenarios PLUS this couscous has roasted PURPLE cauliflower in it. yum.

TOFU:

-cut tofu into rectangles

-marinade tofu for at least 30 minutes in 1/4 c tamari or soy sauce and 1 tbl blackstrap molas

ses. 

-make a spice combination of thyme, sage, garlic powder, and a little salt and pepper. 

-roll the marinaded tofu in the spice mixture and put on grill (or in pan or oven, but grill is best)

-cook until heated through

COUSCOUS

-choose vegetables ( i chose eggplant, purple cauliflower, carrots and onions)

-heat oven to 400

-spray pan with oil, put veggies on pan, spray them with oil, and slightly season with salt and pepper. 

-let them cook for about 40 minutes.

-cook couscous

-toss together! 

i got my harissa recipe here. 

fancy pearled barley olive stuffed bell pepper

in my opinion, stuffing anything makes dinner seem instantly fancy. and anything served with veganomicon's chickpea cutlets with a brown mushroom gravy is fancy as it is. 

pearled barley is one of my favorite grains. its a departure from rice and couscous. it is arborio-esque, so i frequently use it as a healthy, whole grain substitute for risottos. like arborio rice, pearled barley requires a lot of liquid, so watch it as it cooks... i estimated here. 

barley olive stuffed bell peppers:

1 bell pepper (i like orange)

1/2 yellow onion

1 c pearled barley

3 c vegetable broth

1 tsp red wine vinegar

some kalamata olives

pre heat oven to 350. saute onion in sauce pan. add barley and broth to sauce pan, add olives and red wine vinegar. you can also add some olive oil if you would like. stuff into bell pepper, and put into a lightly greased pan. cook in oven for about 35 minutes or until bell pepper is nice and soft. yum.