mango fried quinoa with green beans and cashews

Once again, I am loving all of these vegan food blogs that I am coming across. I will never run out of ideas or inspiration again! This recipe is a slight twist on the Mango Fried Rice recipe by Post Punk Kitchen. Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Mango Fried Quinoa with Green Beans and Cashews!

I only slightly adapted the recipe. I used quinoa instead of rice and Burn Baby Burn hot sauce (the Black Panther’s organic hot sauce!) instead of Sriracha hot sauce. I also added my mangoes to the skillet sooner than the recipe had called for, since the only mangoes that were available at the co-op were not so ripe. Nothing a little heat can’t fix!

This is a tasty recipe, it has a variety of flavors and textures to it. I think that raisins would have been a nice addition, and perhaps the next time I’ll make it I’ll give it a try!

Since I made a bunch, I brought a container of this tasty dish with me to work to surprise Shannon with! Hooray for sharing, because sharing is caring!

P.S. There is an epic Portland, Oregon trip in the makes (for my 25th Birthday in May!). In case you didn’t know, Portland is VEGAN HEAVEN. We reserved our four night stay at a hostel in the Pearl District, and we are scouting out which vegan restaurants we shall visit! If you have any recommendations, feel free to share them! So many restaurants… so little time!

steamed spinach and grilled tofu bagel sandwich

We love figuring out new ways to make gourmet tasting vegan food… especially when it’s quick and easy! Introducing the Steamed Spinach and Grilled Tofu Bagel Sandwich with a Garlic-Almond Cheese Spread; quick, easy, and oh-so-tasty!

I grilled the tofu on high heat for a few minutes in some grapeseed oil, tamari, and agave nectar, while simultaneously steam-sauteeing some spinach. While the bagel was gettin toasty, I made the spread by throwing some almonds, nutritional yeast, and sea salt in my spice grinder, grinding it to a powder. Then I added a clove of garlic and processed it until it was a paste.

Out popped the bagel, hot and toasty! I spread the Garlic-Almond Cheese Spread (aka the transformed contents of the spice grinder) on both sides of the bagel. Then I layered the savory grilled tofu and steamed spinach in the middle, and took out the camera to make the sandwich feel ultra sexy for a moment before I GOBBLED IT UP!!!  YUM! : )

The Bear and The Blackberry strike again!

cookies and cream cupcakes (BEST!)

I love all of the vegan food blogs that I am finding out in the e-universe. Not only do they provide me with a sense of camaraderie and connection, but they supply endless amounts of inspiration, as well as lots of “I HAVE TO MAKE THAT!” moments.

One such moment came a few weeks ago, after stumbling upon We Heart Vegan. They made a tantalizing post about the most delicious looking cupcakes ever: Cookies n’ Cream Cupcakes!

Our friend Shannon came over so that we could try out the recipe. It turns out not only do these look like the most delicious cupcakes ever, but THEY ARE THE MOST DELICIOUS CUPCAKES EVER INVENTED! I challenge you to prove me wrong!

Seriously though… these are really ridiculously freaking good. When I sunk my teeth into my first cupcake, all I could say was, “MMMMMMMMM….”, followed by, “This is the best cupcake I have ever had… EVER!”

You should definitely try them for yourself! The recipe can be found at We Heart Vegan, so ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out!

Shannon drew this for me : ) It now resides on the fridge, naturally.

P.S. The next time we make these, we promise to share!

BEST!

kale and cremini mushroom lasagna

To get ready for the grand opening of The Bear and The Blackberry House Restaurant, I have decided to cook for my friends and family more. So my very special friends Leah and Sandy came over for a vegan lasagna and salad feast!

The lasagna was made of whole wheat noodles, to get the best noodle-y nutrition possible. Layered inside the lasagna was sauteed kale, cremini mushrooms, and yellow bell peppers. I alternated a layer of almond cheese (Jef is a pro at making this… almonds, nutritional yeast, sea salt, and some spice grinding magic and VOILA!) with the home made marinara sauce. The marinara sauce had garlic, onions, crushed canned tomatoes, dried oregano, dried basil, kalamata olives, sea salt, and crushed black pepper. Add a sprinkling of almond cheese on top and yum!

It was fun cooking for friends, and I hope to be doing a lot more of it! Especially when we turn our house into a restaurant for intimate vegan dinners come late spring/early summer! : )

Although Sandy and Leah are both omnivores, they really enjoyed their home made vegan feast. Leah even commented on the almond cheese, noting that it tasted spookily like parmesan! I served the Kale and Cremini Mushroom Lasagna with: Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Toasted Almonds.

spinach salad with strawberries and toasted almonds

This spinach salad is accompanied by toasted sliced almonds and red ripe strawberries! I made an orange chia seed vinaigrette that consisted of freshly squeezed orange juice, rice vinegar, agave syrup, sesame oil, garlic, and chia seeds.

Are you ready for some fun nutritional facts about chia seeds? Okay! Chia seeds are the highest plant source of omega-3, and are high in calcium, fiber, protein, and antioxidants. If you thought that flax seeds were your go-to for omega-3, then you haven’t heard of chia seeds! Ch-ch-ch-chia! It’s the new black!

I served this tasty-zangy-scrumptious salad with the Kale and Cremini Mushroom Lasagna I made for my very special friends Sandy and Leah.

Another nutritional fun fact, spinach is super high in iron. BUT, unlike the iron found in dead animal flesh, this iron is hard for our body to digest… UNLESS you pair your spinach/leafy greens with something that contains vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), which makes the non-bloody-iron more available for the body to properly absorb. Any kind of healthy fat helps increase the iron absorption even more.

Which means pairing strawberries and almonds with the spinach, and then topping it off with an orange chia seed vinaigrette is the PERFECT way to insure us vegans are getting the benefits of our spinach! Popeye would be proud!

san francisco day trip (herbivore)

The Bear and The Blackberry took the day off for a trip to the city for vegan eats, vegan sweets, delicious coffee, cool old records, and some cityscape exploration!

‘Twas a rainy day in the city, so our adventure began at Blue Bottle Coffee, for some fine organic caffeination and warmth. Despite the cold weather, we had to try the kyoto style iced coffee, which was ridiculously good; super smooth and chocolate-y. We also had a cup of the fresh drip Three Africans to warm us up, which was very satisfactory indeed!

After some rainy day city street exploring and record purchasing at Amoeba, we popped into Herbivore for a sweet treat. We shared a chocolate cupcake and a raspberry-vanilla cupcake… Mmmmmmmmmm.

Annnndddd….how about some more organic caffeination?! After all, trekking around the city in the rain and eating delicious cupcakes is soooooo tiring…so we popped into Ritual for a nice, hot cup of La Libertad coffee! It was conveniently located about a block away from Herbivore, so we took it as an offering from the gods and goddesses. Only fools would resist!

And back to Herbivore for dinner! Our original plan was to check out Millennium for a posh vegan feast, but after getting drenched in the rain, we decided we will return for a special trip in the future, sporting fancy (dry) attire.

Herbivore fulfilled our desires for a flavorful vegan feast in a casual atmosphere, with an added bonus of a friendly, on the ball staff. We started with the Vegetable Sampler, an assortment of charbroiled vegetables served with three tantalizing dipping sauces; pesto, tahini, and lemon-garlic. Then we moved onto the main attractions, the Phillo Dough Pie and Penne with Lemon-Herb Cream Sauce. SUPERB!

An indulgent trip admittedly, but all in the name of research! The Bear and The Blackberry returns with visions of vegan restaurants dancing in our heads… inspired, gratified, and full of deliciousness. Field trips = BEST!

sun dried tomato and kalamata olive hummus

MMmmm MMMMM! There is something about homemade hummus that we just can’t get enough of! Hummus is a great snack when used as a dip for veggies or chips, or it can be incorporated into a meal via Wrapprito, sandwich, or in this case…pizza! Sometimes the bear and the blackberry just feels lazy, so we want something easy and quick to satisfy our taste buds and fill up our stomachs. When prepared in advance, homemade hummus is an excellent way to make a quick and easy meal delicious, unique, and positively nutritious.

We might as well call this hummus “Pizza Hummus” because it tastes like we threw a whole pizza in a blender and out popped this magic stuff! But “Sun Dried Tomato and Kalamata Olive Hummus” just sounds fancier… and that’s exactly what it is, plus a bit more…

The ingredients in this hummus are: garbanzo beans, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, garlic, onion, sesame seeds, grapeseed oil, lots o’ love, and a baby bit of sea salt. We pretty much throw all of these ingredients into the food processor (adjusting as necessary for tastiness) and out pops this delicious dip/spread/thingamagig!

On this particular day I was feeling a combination of lazy/hungry, so I spread this radical hummus onto my favorite tortilla (the ones we get at the Co-op: Micaela’s Original Recipe Wheat Tortillas…the BEST tortillas on the planet!) and then topped it with some kale, yellow bell pepper, cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of grapeseed oil. I then placed this “pizza” into my broiling oven for some quick cookin’, and just a few minutes later I had a scrumptious meal! Bravo for pizza hummus!  ENCORE!!!

Now for some edutainment, brought to you by our brains plus some information from our handy dandy nutritional books!

• Garbanzo Beans (also known as Chickpeas) are high in protein, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus.
• Tomatoes are high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, and zinc.
• Kalamata Olives are high in vitamin E and oleic acid, a healthy omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acid.

macadamia mango granola

How about a nice bowl of some tropical granola? Yes, please! We found a recipe for this granola in Delicious Living, a monthly publication that we grab at the Sacramento Foods Co-op for inspiration and nutritional information.

Making granola is fun, plus it makes the house smell like cinnamon, vanilla, and toasty delicious things! The recipe straight out of the magazine is as follows, with my little adjustments in parenthesis:

• 3 cups rolled outs
• 1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 2/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
• 4 tablespoons virgin coconut oil (I used canola oil)
• 6 tablespoons honey (I used agave syrup)
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt (I used 1/4 teaspoon because I’m a sea salt FIEND)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup finely chopped dried mango
• 2/3 cup dried pineapple

Preheat your favorite oven to three hundred degrees fahrenheit.
Mix together the oats, macadamia nuts, sesame seeds, and coconut.
Pour the oil, agave, sea salt, cinnamon, and vanilla, and mix very well.
Spread onto a big pan (I used a 12×17 inch one, which seemed to work out pretty well) and bake for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent any unwanted burning. Burning is only fun if it’s wanted.
When you can smell delicious goodness coming from you oven, and the granola looks toasty and pretty, take it out and let it cool for a while.
Once it is cooled, you can transfer to your favorite granola bowl or container and mix in the dried mango and pineapple for some tropical fun!

Now you can have granola for snack time, breakfast time, or anytime!

So, how’s about some fun nutritional facts?
This granola has the healthy fats that we vegans need to not be skin and bones!  Macadamia nuts are full of monounsaturated fats, which help lower the evil cholesterol (LDL). Macadamia nuts are also high in protein, calcium, potassium, and dietary fiber. Plus, they are magically delicious!
Mangoes are high in vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, natural sugars, iron, fiber, and calicium.
Oats are high in complex carbohydrates, protein, fiber, and iron.

This granola has the power to make you go-go, thanks to all of it’s healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and protein content. Go-Go Granola!

p.s. herb garden!

So there has been a new addition to the BEST residence… we are the proud parents of a windowsill herb garden! Hooray! We started these babies from scratch, and it has been so much fun watching them grow (I obsess over them night and day).

We have cilantro, basil, sage, parsley, oregano, and chives growing, and all of them have successfully sprouted and are millimeter-ing their way to be full grown plants. We are so proud of our little sproutlings, and we cannot wait until they get big enough so that we can EAT THEM!!!

Ahhhh, the joys of parenthood!

Thanks to my dad for installing our lavender herb garden shelf, couldn’t of grown these babies without you! : )

garlic cashew cream pasta with green peas

What time is it? It’s pasta time! We were inspired to make this pasta by the Sacramento Foods Co-op. They have a “Garlic Lover’s Pasta”  in their deli case from time to time, which is vegetarian. But we went ahead and dreamed up a vegan version of this pasta, and MMMM MMM it’s good!

The cream sauce is made up of toasted cashews, garlic, unsweetened soy milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, dried basil, dried thyme, sea salt, and cracked black pepper. After some food processoring-ering-ering and stove magic, we poured this sauce over whole wheat fusilli and green peas, and enjoyed it with roasted kale and carrots on the side.

We have found that a combination of nuts (for fat), nutritional yeast (for cheesy flavor), and sea salt (for uh…salt!) are great for replacing cheese, since our tongue recognizes cheese as basically fat and salt. Nuts, seeds, and oils are a great way for us vegans to get the healthy fats that we aren’t getting elsewhere in our diet, and they are also a great source of protein and other nutrients. Some key nutrients in cashews are iron, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, calcium, and protein.

Green peas are also action packed with nutrients and ridiculously delicious! Key nutrients in green peas include calcium, iron, vitamin C, protein, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.

This pasta was enjoyed hot by the bear and the blackberry, but it is also great cold, as in pasta salad. We love pasta time!