Eating in Guam

Okay, I'm in Guam! I just bought a computer and now I am connected to the world wide web. Feels good. I got a job working as a Clubmate for Pacific Islands Club. My job is working at the beach, water park, trampoline,racquet center, kids club and doing dance shows at night. It's fun and high energy and I've met some super cool people out here. Guam, my birthplace, is magical and refreshing. I'm having a blast and loving the island style.

Eating in Guam is great. I've totally gotten better at eating since moving into a hotel room and eating at cafeteria 3 meals a day. The idea of food has changed a little in my mind. I'm still totally obsessed with it, but, for the first time in my life, it also feels like a chore sometimes. I'm learning more that food = fuel. I 'm not perfectly healthy all the time, but I'm getting better at picking foods that nourish and energize me.

Some of my fellow Club mates and I have started doing a food club on Monday nights. It starts at 10:30 when everyone gets off work. We cut, chop, blend, spread, grate, slice and mix while sharing knives and cutting boards and sprawling out all over our hotel rooms. Here's what we've made so far.

Cabbage, Carrot, Apple, Onion, Tomato, bell pepper and kale wraps with rice vinegar and agave nectar
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Bean Salsa. This was Natalie's recipe. SO GOOD!

corn, black beans, white beans, red onion, cliantro and salsa.


Pizza.

Daiya vegan cheese, onion, tomato, black beans, bell pepper, fresh garlic, organic mushroom, garlic marinara, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts and a feta cheese. We made different combo's of all the ingredients. SO GOOD. Toaster oven. Amazing. Oh and this was on a whole grain pizza crust.





And Hummus. It was unreal. Christina's a master.

Garlic, onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon, black beans, garbanzo beans, roasted bell pepper and tomato, roasted garlic. Again, we made different combos using an immersion blender and a regular blender.


photos by Rene.

Potato Stir Fry

Lately, I've been really into potato stir fries. I make the same sort of meal often, and just switch up the ingredients depending on what I have or what I'm trying to use up. This is a pretty quick meal... Maybe 30-45 mintues start to finish. I realize that I love to be in the kitchen, so a meal that takes close to two hours doesn't phase me. But, I dont' make those kind of meals every night. This is something I would make when I don't feel like making a totally kick-ass dinner, just a kick-ass one.


1 lb potatoes (I used small yellow ones this time), cut into large chunks
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced (3/4 inch squares)
8 oz tofu, pressed (even if it's only for 5-10 minutes, do it!)
1-2 tsp soy sauce or tamari
1/2 tsp tumeric
2-3 tbl earth balance or other butter substitute
2 leaves of rapini ,rolled tightly and sliced thinly diagonally, (rapini looks like chard, any leafy greens would work here)
1/2 cup collard greens roughly chopped
1-2 carrots, grated
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup green chili or other salsa
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (optional)


Guacamole
1/2 avocado, smushed
1 tomatoe, diced
1 tbl red onion, diced
1 tsp lemon or lime juice
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper

Add potatoes to a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes or until very tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and onions. Sautee for 2-3 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add the tofu by crumbling with your hands. Add the soy sauce and tumeric. Continue to cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is drying out and getting crispy on some sides. Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.

When the potatoes are finished, add the earth balance to the same pan you used for the tofu. Add the potatoes, coat them all with butter and let cook for 5 minutes or so, until the one side is crispy. Stir occasionally, cutting the potatoes into bite size pieces with the end of the spatula. Cook until the potatoes are as crispy as you want. Add the tofu mixture back to the pan along with the carrots, rapini and collard greens. Stir fry for 3-5 mintues. Add the green chili and garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes if you desire. Top with the guacamole and DIG IN!

This is what rapini looks like.

Tofu Nuggets, Garlic Fries and Sautee'd Fall Veggies

I love tofu nuggets! The key to tofu is marinating and then cooking until it changes texture. So, these take awhile, but a lot of the time is inactive. I don't make this very often because I rarely remember to start marinating the tofu ahead of time... but yesterday I did. We were on our way out to go paint at All Fired Up (super fun by the way), and I threw the tofu in a plastic bag with the soy sauce and water and walked out the door. Easy Peasy. I also added some frozen garlic french fries from Trader Joe's to this meal. French fries are vegan, thank GOD. And then of course, the obligatory vegetable. I'm not going to lie, sometimes eating vegetables is like a chore. But as with all chores, it is necessary and you'll probably feel better after. I was using up some veggies from our veggie box for this stir fry, not sure I'd pick this variety of vegetables out of the grocery store. Anyway, on with the recipe-

Tofu Nuggets:
16 oz tofu (any firmness is fine)
2 tbl soy sauce (or tamari)
2tbl water
1/4 cup nutrional yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Cut the tofu into 4 or 5 strips and place in a plastic bag (a produce bag is a good size). Add the soy sauce and water, you can add a little more of both if needed. Then place the plastic bag in a bowl and let sit in the fridge for 1.5 hours or more. Rotate the tofu slabs once or twice.

Heat oven to 375. Mix the nutritional yeast with the spices in a small plate. Cut the tofu slabs into 5 or 6 pieces, to make cubes. Roll the cubes in the nutritional yeast mixture and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating the cubes one to three times.

Garlic Fries:
I put these in the oven half way through the cooking time of the tofu nuggets. Flipping fries once.

Veggie Stir Fry:

1/2 small white onion, cut into 1/2 squares
4 turnips, sliced and then cut in half
leaves of four turnips, chopped roughly
1/2 cup green beans, ends chopped off and cut in half
1 clove garlic
2 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper
thyme

Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium with the olive oil. Add the onions and sautee for 2 minutes. Then add the turnips and sautee for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and turnip leaves and sautee for 2-3 more minutes. Season with salt, pepper and thyme.
Enjoy!

Tortillas con vegetales y salsa verde

I don't really know what to call this dish, so I'll just say what it is, but in Spanish. It reminds me of a dish called "chiliquiles' that we serve at the Blue Onion. I have never had the one at the B.O.; in my imagination it would taste like what I made tonight- hearty, chewy, rich and savory. I had some potatoes that I cooked the night before, so this came together in flash. I served it with a side of black beans.

1 orange bell pepper, sliced 1/8"- 1/4" thick
1/2 medium onion, sliced 1/8"-1/4" thick
2 cups cooked potatoes chopped roughly into small pieces (1/4 -1/2 inch cubes)
4 6" inch corn tortillas, ripped into bite size chunks (if they're a little stale, that's even better)
1/4 cup ish earth balance (I know, it's crazy, you can cut it in half if you're trying to be low fat)
1/4 cup green chili salsa (I used Salsa Verde from Trader Joe's)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes
1/2 tsp soy sauce

Garnish
avocado, tomato, cilantro, whatever really


Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the earth balance (or olive oil) and add the red peppers and onions. Stir fry for 3-5 minutes and then add the potatoes. Continue to stir fry while adding the rest of the earth balance. Smush the potatoes a little with the end of your spatula. Add the tortillas after 2 minutes. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the green chili, soy sauce, cumin and red pepper flakes. Stir fry for another few minutes and then turn the heat to low. Continue to stir occasionally for 2-5 minutes.

Serve with beans and garnish. And tortilla chips if you've got 'em.

Black Bean Burgers with Sauteed Mushrooms and Spinach

I've been on a veggie burger kick these days. I like eating with my hands and getting food all over my face. So, here's the black bean burgers I made last night, and today already for lunch. And we'll have them again for dinner. It makes a lot, so get your burger on.

~adapted from 'Veganomicon'

2 cups ish black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (can be found in the bulk section of health food stores, or ask your grocer)
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
2 ears corn, raw, but cut it off like when you had braces
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tbl ketchup (check your ketchup for high fructose corn syrup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, grated (break out your ski or swim goggles for this one)
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbl olive oil, plus spray or more olive oil for cooking

bread or buns of your choice, toasted



Mash the beans with a fork in mixing bowl. Don't puree; leave some half beans. Add the bread crumbs, gluten, corn, chili powder, cumin, oregano, ketchup, grated onion, garlic, olive oil, cilantro and jalapeno. Mix everything together with your hands until it is uniform (about a minute).

Preheat a heavy bottomed pan over medium. Divide the burger mixture into 6-8 ball. Flatten on a surface or between your hands. Pour a thin layer of olive oil in pan, add burgers and cook until brown. Flip and cook for 3-5 minutes.


At this point I leave the burgers in the pan, warming and make the sauteed spinach and mushrooms.

6 mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup spinach leaves, chopped roughly
1 tbl earth balance or other butter substitute

Heat a large pan with butter over medium and add mushrooms and spinach. Spread out the mushrooms so they aren't touching and stir occasionally. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft.

I built my burger/ sandwich like this:
toasted bread/ bun
veganaise
ketchup
thinly sliced avocado, spread evenly (peel it first)
burger
mushrooms and spinach
tomato slices
red onion slices
toasted bread/ bun

Eggplant, Bok choy and Tofu Stir Fry with Coconut Basmati Rice

I love asian food. Love. I can stuff my face like no other when it comes to vegetables, rice and noodles mixed with yummy sauces. I'm generally a fan of brown rice, but sometimes white rice is okay. In my opinion. So tonight we went with the white basmati rice and it was freaking delicious. Here we go:
~recipe adapted from 'Curries' by Susanna Tee.

3-4 tbl vegetable oil or olive (used in two parts)
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced thinly, diagonally
2 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
4 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
1/2 jalepeno, chopped
1 tbl ginger, chopped
1 medium eggplant chopped in 3/4 inch ish chunks
8 oz pressed tofu (put between two plates with something heavy on top), cubed
1 bunch baby bok choy, chopped

sauce-
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 cup vegetable broth
3 tbl soy sauce or tamari
3 tbl rice vinegar
2 tbl peanut butter
1 tbl sweetener
freshly ground black pepper

garnish-
chopped cilantro and basil
bean sprouts
lime


Heat half the oil over medium high heat and add the onions, stir fry for 1-2 minutes, then add the celery, carrots and garlic. Continue stir frying for another 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Heat the rest of the oil over medium high, add the tofu and eggplant and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the jalepeno and garlic and continue to stir occasionally for 4 minutes, letting the tofu get crispy.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and add to the eggplant with the onion, carrot, celery mix. Add the bok choy and let simmer, slightly covered, for 4 minutes.

Serve over rice and garnish


Coconut Basmati Rice
2 tsp oil
1 1/2 cup basmati rice
1 cup water
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oil over medium heat and add the rice. Stir for 2 minutes. Add the water and coconut milk and salt, cover and bring to a boil Simmer, with the lid slightly open for 12 minutes. Turn off, wait 3 minute and fluff with a fork.

Peanut Butter Potato Chip Cookies

This recipe is adapted from "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch" by Rory Freedman. She's rad, as are her books. Here's what you'll need:

2 1/2 cups flour (I do whole wheat pastry or split it with white and wheat)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup refined sugar alternative (I used turbinado, a natural brown sugar)
3/4 cup oil (I used a combo of olive, safflower and melted Earth Balance)
1/3 cup finely chopped and pitted dates
1 cup chunky or smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 cup ice water
2 tbl ground flax seed (you can omit this if you don't have it)
1 tbl molasses
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 cups crushed potato chips (something natural.... whatever that means)


Preheat oven 375.

In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Blend the 1/4 cup water with ground flax seed in a blender for 30 seconds to a minute. Set aside.

In a large bowl blend peanut butter, sugar, dates and oil for 2-3 minutes. Add flax seed mixture, vanilla and molasses and mix until combined. Add the flour and potato chips in 3 equal-ish parts and mix in by hand. Mix each part in until almost all combined. Don't over mix. I try to fold in the ingredients. Mixture will be dry. Form into 3 tablespoon balls and place on cookie sheet. Use a fork to slightly press down the cookies in a criss-cross pattern. .

Bake for 8-9 minutes. I'm a big fan of rotating the cookie tray mid oven time. Also, don't over cook, they'll settle up nicely.

Dig in!