Black Bean Cakes with Mango and Avocado Salsa

I have been craving these since last summer! It's a great warm weather dish with the mango and all. I used one can of black beans but should have used two. One can only yielded five cakes and we wanted more! I also

sliced the tip of my thumb open on the jagged lid of the can after cutting it open! Ouch! I think I needed stitches, oh well. Be careful! Anyway, I rinsed and drained the beans after keeping myself from fainting and applying a couple of band aids. I then coursely mashed the beans with a big fork until they started to stick together. I added chopped onion, cilantro, a teaspoon of cumin, a little soy milk and salt and pepper. I formed them into balls then into half inch patties and covered with breadcrumbs.

For the salsa I cut up avocado, onion, more cilantro and mango. (Actually, Mike cut up the mango because I was being a big baby at this point because my finger hurt and I couldn't hold the knife and cut the mango) Thanks Mike! Some lemon juice was added as well. I cooked the cakes in a frying pan with some olive oil until browned on both sides. For a final touch chopped cilantro was sprinkled over top of the cakes and salsa! They were well worth getting my finger sliced! Yes, they're THAT good!

Scrumptious Tofu Scramble

This is a great breakfast dish but we had it for dinner! (My husband calls that "Brinner") I used one block of firm tofu, squeezed of excess water and patted dry. I heated olive oil in my pan and sauteed chopped onion and grated carrot with turmeric (a beautiful yellow spice) and salt and pepper. After the veggies softened just a bit, I crumbled the tofu in my hands right over the pan and mixed until all ingredients were blended. I added chopped parsley right before I removed from pan and into serving bowls. I decided to add veggie sausage pieces right into the scramble which I had heated up in a separate pan. (I used a frozen variety like Morning Star Brand) We served with slices of crusty artisan bread. Yum.

Open Faced Avocado and White Bean Spread Sandwich

Ingredients:

Artisan Loaf of Bread

Avocado

Sprouts

White Beans (we used canned)

Olive Oil

Onion

Salt and Pepper

I was going to make it-but then I got busy so my husband Michael did all the work! Just mash the beans and olive oil with a fork in a bowl. Smear the bean spread onto a sliced piece of bread. Add sprouts, onion, avocado slices and salt and pepper. Easy and delicious! I wanted to take photos of us eating it because it was really quite messy! You'll need a fork for this one because it kind of falls all over the place. We joked about how it would be awful food for a first date or for a dinner party since it was getting all over our faces and mouths and sprouts between our teeth! But darn it's tasty! We didn't care because we've been together so long that we're beyond impressing each other! (Except of course when we're making a fabulous new recipe in the kitchen!)

Quinoa and Black Bean Quesadillas

Quinoa, pronounced "keen-wa" is a grain that really packs the protein and it's so tasty! These untraditional

quesadillas are delicious! I put down a wheat tortilla in a hot skillet and added cooked quinoa, heated black beans (from a can) and grated pepper jack cheese as shown in the picture. I then added another tortilla on top,

flipped once to brown both sides and to allow the cheese to melt just slightly. Cut into quarters with a pizza cutter and serve with either salsa, soy sour cream or guacamole!

The "Elvis" Smoothie (Peanut Butter and Banana)

So "The King" liked his fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches... I prefer them not fried on nice soft wheat bread OR....as a smoothie! I used a couple of frozen bananas, some soy milk, ice and a generous spoonful of creamy natural peanut butter. My one year old approved as seen wearing a smoothie mustache....

What can I say, "I'm All Shook Up!"

Moisturizing Avocado Mask

Never waste an over ripe avocado again! Either make guacamole, a smoothie or this refreshing and very moisturizing face mask. Just mash a very ripe avocado until very creamy and apply generously to your face and neck. Leave on for 15 minutes then rinse. Or if it's before bedtime just tissue off the excess avocado and go to sleep. The vitamins and oils will go to work while you sleep and you will wake up feeling at least 5 years younger!

Baked Tofu

Easy AND tasty!

I used extra firm tofu, squeezed out excess water and cut into half inch slices. I coated the bottom of a glass baking dish with soy sauce, water, chopped shallots and minced garlic. I then arranged the tofu slices in the dish and added juice from a lemon right on top along with salt and fresh ground pepper. I let marinate for a couple of hours since I had the time before cooking. You could probably get away with marinating for less time. I flipped the tofu once while marinating. I then baked for 50 minutes at 375 degrees and served hot right out of the oven with fresh sauteed spinach

and whole wheat couscous. Yum yum.

Nori Rolls (Vegetarian Sushi)

These are just delightful and easy! I was the prep chef and simply

chopped all of my raw ingredients into small long slices. I used

carrots, green onion, avocado, cucumbers and ginger. You could also use radishes and cabbage.

Mike then meticulously rolled the ingredients with the nori sheets.

(Dried seaweed) You can find it at most health food and specialty stores. Once rolled, he cut them into 1 inch pieces and served with

ginger, wasabi and soy sauce. He also garnished with green onion. We went all out and ate with chopsticks!

Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana Smoothie

It's like a healthy banana split! Yum!

I blended chocolate soymilk, a banana, some strawberries and ice.

Stay tuned for yet another smoothie posting soon!

Is this bad for the dishwasher?

Sometimes it is the only way I get any cooking or food prep done!

Actually he only did it a couple of times and I thought it was cute and he is "helping" to "load" the dishwasher.

Our bean stalk!

This is our bean plant! We were inspired by a story on Sesame Street the other day to plant some beans and watch them sprout! So here it is- our beanstalk! I am transferring it outdoors this weekend! It is always amazing to watch a plant grow from seed. This also makes me want to to sprout some beans for salads!

Apple, Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

Okay, this may be redundant but this was also good and had a very different flavor than just the strawberry and banana one. I just used a red apple, a banana and some strawberries with ice and soy milk. It was very "cooling"- a little birdy told me so!

Quick Tofu Salad

Use whatever greens you have in the fridge. I used fresh spinach and mixed greens. Add some pieces of baked tofu (I used Trader Joe's Baked Tofu-Savory). Grate carrots over top, drizzle with olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste. The taste of the oil, lemon, salt and pepper for dressing is so delicious and low in calories unlike many store bought dressings. It's very "summery". Yum.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

The second in my "smoothie series": This one is good! My one year old loved it! It's rather sweet and creamy.

Blend a couple of frozen bananas (freeze them in one inch pieces-it's easier on your blender) with some strawberries, soy milk and a couple of ice cubes. Add a big red strawberry on the rim of glass for garnish! Voila!

The great thing about smoothies is that you can just add things as you go! If it's too thick add some more liquid, if it's too thin add more fruit, etc, etc. Make it just how you prefer! Experiment!

Today was in the 90's so it was perfect smoothie weather!

Quick "No Fuss" Veggie Wrap

This is such a quick and healthy meal! You can pretty much just chop up anything you have in the fridge and wrap it up! I made mine with cold left over soy chicken strips, raw spinach, spring mix, chopped scallion, grated carrots, some lemon juice and salt and pepper. I wrapped in a multigrain wrap, served with some fresh fruit and a whole scallion. Fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil or chives would be great to use on a wrap like this!

Happy wrapping!

Raw Spring Cleaning Smoothie

The First of my "Smoothie Series"

This tasted better than I thought it would!

Blend some spinach, avocado, apple, pear and blackberries with some

cold water. You could also use strawberries. This smoothie really

took on the color of the blackberries and they sweetened it nicely, too!

A real "pick me up"!