I bring them with me to my desk, reviewing recipes to make or adapt to my liking, I bring them to bed and Mark puts them back onto the bookshelf when I, inevitably, fall asleep while reading. I believe that a well written cookbook can make a reader feel like they are in the kitchen of the writer. Writing a cookbook or blog is inviting people into an extension of their home. I feel I have dined with people I have never met before by making their recipes. I have been following Sprouted Kitchen for quite some time now. Sara’s recipes and Hugh’s photography constantly motivate me to practice just that little bit more, behind the camera and in my kitchen. Their book, The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl and Spoon: Simple and Inspired Whole Foods Recipes to Savor and Share, is one I grab frequently since Mark and I eat a lot of bowls.

The mixture of grains, fresh vegetables, and protein, topped with a great tasting sauce fuels my body and soul. I enjoy its simplicity in making and its variations of toppings. Bowls are a big part of my weekly meal plan and with this book to guide me, the possibilities have grown tremendously.

Some may think the term “hippie” is offensive but, like Sara, I use it with the utmost endearment.

12 recipes down, 18 more to go! See you tomorrow for Day 13: Kitchen Tour. Missed Day 11? Check it out here.

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Made this recipe? I would love to see it! Use the hashtag #screcipe on your social media. 

FYI: This post does contain an affiliate link from Amazon. If you purchase the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook through the link, I receive a teeny commission from Amazon. It does not increase the cost to you at all. 

SC Hippie Bowl w/ Citrus Miso Sauce

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

This recipe doubles well so you can have leftovers for a work lunch or dinner the next day. If you don't want to use tofu, steamed edamame beans work well.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: vegan

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 8 ounces extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed
• 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seed oil
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• Fat pinch of red chili flakes
• ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1 cup short grain rice
• 2 carrots, peeled, trimmed, and shaved into thin ribbons
• 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage, massaged in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ ripe avocado, cut into sliced
• Black or white sesame seeds (optional)
• Red chili flakes, if you like it spicy (optional)
• 
  
• Citrus Miso Dressing:
• ¼ cup raw cashew butter
• ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil
• 3 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• Red chili flakes, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Rinse and drain the rice. Add it to 2½ cups of boiling water, bring back to boil, turn down heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the rice is tender. Drain any excess water and fluff the rice.
3. While the rice is cooking, toss the cubed tofu in the lemon juice, sesame seed oil, syrup, salt, and chili flakes. Bake for 20 minutes until crispy, flipping halfway through.
4. Meanwhile, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside until you are ready to dress your bowls.
5. While the tofu and rice are cooking, prep your vegetables.
6. When the rice is tender, add it to the bowls, then the veg and cooked tofu, and dress with Citrus Miso Sauce. Add sesame seeds and chili flakes if you desire.

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The post Day 12 Vegan MoFo: SC Hippie Bowl w/ Citrus Miso Sauce appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

My potted plants could have waited and I did not need those groceries right that second. I needed to take care of my body since it was in need of some rest and repair. I would have scolded a friend if she told me that she had surgery one day and ran errands like a crazy person the next day. Why was it so easy to let myself do these things?

Now, I am fully recovered from my surgery and back to my routine but with a little more balance. There are two important things I have learned from this experience: I do not need to do everything in a day and I do not need to do it alone. Will I survive if I didn’t accomplish X amount of things on my list? Yes. Would it be an epic failure on my part if someone helped me out? Not even a little. Over the next few days of recovery, Mark was helpful with things around the house that I committed to do exclusively myself over the past three years. I had rejected his help in the past. He also helped ensure I stayed in bed by bringing me tea, watching some Brooklyn Nine-Nine together and he took my glasses off my face when I fell asleep reading. Sure, it isn’t the stuff of a paperback romance novel but it was romantic to me. Along with the importance of balance, I realized that romance did not have to be grand gestures but the sweet little things that someone does for you to make your life better. Thank you Mark xoxo.

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! 

P.S. Though I am behind from the surgery, the eBook is scheduled to come out on Thursday, July 16th and it is FREE to any subscriber! Subscribe by adding your email address to the right side bar and click subscribe!

P.P.S I used my Maple Sriracha Tempeh Bacon recipe for this one as well. If you like, add a few dashes of liquid smoke to the marinade for a really bacon-y flavour. 

BLT + Potato Chip Salad {Vegan & Gluten-Free}

 

Save Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

This dish reminds me on a super healthy version of the classic deli style meal of a BLT served with potato chips. Turns out potato chips in a sandwich are totally boss but totally terrible for you. Put it on a salad. Vegan and gluten free.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: vegan, gluten free

Ingredients

• 1 batch Maple Sriracha Tempeh Bacon + a few dashes of liquid smoke (optional)
• 1 sweet potato, unpeeled
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• ½ pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• ½ ripe avocado, pitted and sliced thin
• Greens of your choice, I used baby spinach but romaine would be good too
• Creamy Garlic Dressing:
• ¼ cup eggless mayo (I used Follow Your Heart Brand)
• 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 small garlic cloves, grated fine through a microplane
• A few cracks of black pepper
• Finely chopped chives, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. While the oven is preheating, marinate the tempeh, flipping once. Slice the unpeeled sweet potatoes very thin; I used a mandolin. Toss the sweet potatoes chips with oil + salt. Transfer to the baking sheet and line in a single layer. Transfer the marinated tempeh to the other baking sheet.
2. Bake chips and tempeh for 17-20 minutes, turning halfway. If the chips or tempeh look too dark, remove from the oven; the chips will further crisp up as they cool to room temperature. While the chips and tempeh are cooking, prepare the dressing.
3. Add all the ingredients to a large measuring cup or bowl and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
4. Divide the tomatoes, avocado and greens amongst your serving dishes. Top with chips and tempeh. Drizzle with Creamy Garlic dressing and sprinkle with chives. Serve!
5. Any leftover tempeh bacon can be stored for about 5 days in the fridge.

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The post BLT + Potato Chip Salad {Vegan & Gluten-Free} appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

Five months ago, I published a post about my Champagne Birthday, styled by the wonderfully talented soon-to-be-mama Holly Bowman. In the post, I wrote down some goals I wanted to accomplish before my next birthday. A little recap:

Some major goals I have for this year are:

-Write and develop an e-book   (To receive your FREE copy, subscribe along the sidebar!)

-A full layout redesign including my recipe index (HUGE thanks to Minimalist Baker for their video tutorials)

-Posting more frequently (this will much easier when I am not in school full time)

-Taking more photographs besides food

-Find a form of exercise I enjoy (just signed up for a ballet class! Yes I am going to be terrible but that’s ok!)

-Take an overseas trip

-No more buying coffee (especially since I buy excellent coffee beans for home) 

-Get my drivers’ license (yeah I know…)

I keep a little notebook with me everywhere I go so I can write down goals as I think of them and better yet, crossing them off as I accomplish them. For me, it is the best way to stay on track. Every few weeks, I write down my action plans to best accomplish these goals and it is wildly satisfying to cross them off my list in ink. So my progress so far:

-The eBook in is the works and I have an editor! I recently attended a “How to Build an eBook” seminar lead by David from The Healthy Maven which was an invaluable source of inspiration.

-The redesign is coming soon with a much better recipe index layout.

-With school officially done (for now), posts will be more frequent. I am aiming for twice a week minimum.

– The season has changed and green things are popping up all over the place. My camera will be making trips with me outside of my kitchen!

-Finding a form of exercise: I tried a 7-week ballet class and it wasn’t for me. I did sign up for hot yoga with my best bud. We actually became friends after working out together for a 5K run and it has been amazing to reconnect with her through this experience. Exercise regimes are made better with a support group or friend.

– My overseas trip has been cancelled but for good reason! I opted to go to Texas for Vida Vegan Con instead of an overseas trip. I feel that this trip would benefit my other goals better than a vacation. Plus, I get to meet some of my favourite vegan bloggers in person! I will probably fangirl so hard that I will be too shy to actually speak to any of them.

– The daily trip to the café near my house has been made much easier since they moved across town so no more coffees that I did not make at home. I have saved $60 a month times 5 months = $300!! 

– I have not done a single thing to get my driver’s license. Yikes!

But I have added the goal of writing at least 500 words a day and not just about food related things. I was recently tagged on Instagram by Amy Le to reveal some things about myself that may not have come up on my site. I confessed that I originally started this blog to become a better writer but because of school, my non-blog related writing has taken a backseat. With school being over now, this is the time to get into a writing routine and creating the habit of sitting down to write. No more excuses! This is my time to better myself and I plan use every moment I can.

This guacamole is a favourite among my friends that I work with (We are all too close to call each other “coworkers”). I brought it into work and we all devoured the container in a matter of minutes. Restaurant servers are always hungry since no one actually gets a break from work and our dinners usually consist of cold fries and maybe a slice of garlic bread with buffalo sauce. They kept asking when this recipe would make an appearance and their persistence has paid off. Roasting the jalapeño adds complexity to this guacamole but the avocado maintains its buttery taste. I originally added 2 full roasted jalapeños to this recipe but found it overpowered the fresh taste of the guacamole and left my mouth on fire. One jalapeño was still fairly mild so I used one and a half peppers but if you like it hot, feel free to add two.

Print

Yum

Roasted Jalapeño Guacamole

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

• 1-2 jalapenos
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large ripe avocados, pitted. 1½ to smooth and the other half diced.
• ½ cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1/3 cup diced fresh tomato
• 1 small shallot, minced
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt*
• Serve with:
• Corn chips*
• Veggie sticks
• Cherry Tomatoes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a small baking sheet with tinfoil or parchment paper. Drizzle the peppers with the olive oil on the sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, turning halfway through the cook time. Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor add 1½ of the avocado, cooled roasted jalapeno, cilantro, limejuice and garlic and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and add the tomatoes, minced shallot, cubed avocado and ¼ teaspoon of sea salt. Mix until just combined.
3. Cover and press the guacamole with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavours meld together. *If you are serving it with salted corn chips, try some of the guacamole on the chip before adding more salt.

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Now before my American readers get offended, it isn’t because I am a Canadian snob or dislike the U.S. but I genuinely believed that as a vegan I would starve. Seriously….

My fear of hunger drove my belief that I would never travel to the deep south of the United States.

I have always had a romantic ideology of the South: the dirt roads, pickup trucks, cowboy hats, beating the midday heat on a porch swing with a cold glass of lemonade, sun-kissed skin and in particular: the accents. I have the weirdest obsession with a good Southern drawl, when words just hang in the air to dry and time moves just a little bit slower. Less romantic note: sometimes when I maybe am drinking that red wine I pretend to have a Southern accent and in my head I am really good at it. Also I may have had a crush on one particular eyeglass wearing legitimate cowboy that I served once at the restaurant I work at but that is a different story.

Why all this talk about the South? Because on May 29 I am headed to Austin, Texas for Vida Vegan Con! I surprised myself when I hit the confirm button on my ticket and flight but the more I think about it, the happier I get about my decision. It is wild to think I will be meeting fellow vegan bloggers in person, going to seminars and demos and if the authors don’t find it super lame, getting my cookbooks signed. How heavy can my carry-on be anyways?

Turns out Austin, Texas is one of the most vegan/vegetarian friendly cities in the U.S. and I plan to eat my fill. I love going to a new place for the learning experience and making connections but mostly its an excuse to eat more than I normally would. Apparently tacos are a really big deal there, especially when served out of a restaurant trailer so I plan to eat a lot of tacos sitting on a blazing hot sidewalk. Please forgive me in advance for my possibly very sweaty, taco-eating selfies on Instagram while I am there. It will be ugly.

During all this excitement of booking my travels, I wanted a dish that was Texas-inspired. This is probably not on any menu of any restaurant in Texas but it is pretty darn good. I was experimenting with a nut-free nacho cheese on Instagram a while back and people were thrilled with the idea! On my account, I drizzled (more like globbed) the sauce onto a big pile of cumin-roasted potatoes and they were delicious however I wanted to lighten things up a little. I decided it needed more greens and a lot more protein to make this meal more balanced than a big pile of potatoes. It may seem crazy, it may seem wild but I just went for it- why didn’t I use the nacho cheese sauce as a salad dressing? Say what?? Oh yes, I went there. I drizzled it on my barbeque baked tempeh, roasted cumin sweet potatoes, fresh avocado and red pepper and dannnng it was banging. All the ingredients in the nacho cheese are pretty good for you and it is no different than any other sunflower dressing so just go for it!

See y’all in Texas! I promise not to wear a cowboy hat. Maybe….

The post Big Ol’ Texas Bowl with Nut-Free Nacho Cheese appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

Maybe the grey days were wearing me down? Maybe people are just irritating me that badly. Grumble grumble….

Staying positive is much more difficult than it is seems. I was at a point where I couldn’t decide between “I should be grateful for what I have” and “I am at my rope’s end” with the things I struggled with. I particularly dislike those people that tell other who are feeling a little glum to “buck up” or “look on the bright side!” Clichés are the worst. The cynic in me became awfully loud recently. 

The only place I wanted to be in was my kitchen. Nothing beats when I have the kitchen all to myself with potential recipes to try out and my laptop strategically placed in the cupboard so I can watch Netflix (catching up on New Girl) while I do the inevitably large amount of dishes I seem to use. 

Being in my kitchen to do anything (besides reheating some soup) made me realize I hadn’t done anything except work and school while I prepared for exams. I was just burnt out and in denial about it.  I wanted to be stronger than that and push on through the exhaustion. I couldn’t admit to myself that my body was overworked and what I needed was just R&R. During my (very) short break I decided to wear exclusively panama pants in my apartment, made absolutely zero plans and worked on things that make me happy (this recipe included!). After my break, things have been starting to look up. 

Since it SNOWED already, I wanted a really satisfying and hearty meal. Roasted vegetables are now here for the season. Hooray! Literally the only good thing about winter is roasting raw root vegetables and turning even the most gnarly vegetable into caramelized and concentrated flavour heaven. I am tired of these restaurant ho-hum iceberg lettuce salads. Give me some flavour and substance! I decided on sweet potatoes and beets since they are beautiful colours together and the sweetness of the potatoes and the earthiness of the beets compliment each other so well.

It is ok to admit that you aren’t feeling 100% and to finally get some rest. You aren’t “weak” because you have just had enough and you just need a little break from your routine. Realizing this is a big game changer in my attitude. I don’t have to “do it all” and I will never ever in a million years be perfect and that is just fine by me. 

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