Baked Maple Ginger Portobello Steaks

 I made these baked Portobellos for dinner this week for my mom and Amber! Turned out so yummy!

 

Maple Ginger Portobello Steaks

Ingredients:

• 4 tbs Braggs amino acids OR soy sauce
• 4 tbs maple syrup
• 1 tbs fresh grated ginger
• 1 tsp garlic powder, or 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 4 portobello mushrooms. 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.Whisk together the braggs, maple syrup, ginger, and garlic powder in a small bowl.
2. Place portobello mushrooms stem side up in a large glass baking dish. Pour marinade over mushrooms and allow them to marinade for at least 30 minutes. 
3. Bake at 350 for until they are done. I honestly didn't watch the time but it was around 20-30 minutes!

My mom made some potatoes to go with and I made quinoa. :) So yummy! The portobellos would also make a good burger with some fries! I will have to try it next time.

-Em

 

Spring Break

My mother, father, and I squeezed ourselves in my brothers tiny Hyundai to drive to Denver. He just moved there and wanted his car. I was cool with this setup seeing that it was a free ride to see my brothers! Here is my trip to Denver through pictures. Bear with me, I took a lot of them!

What I did on my Spring Break.....

Drove into a blizzard in Colby, KS. The highway was closed and we were stranded for almost 2 days! Bummer!!!

Did THIS - which was actually my mother's Idea.

Finally arrived in Denver. Gawked at my brother's living room furniture.

Pigged out on Greek with my fam.

Went running in Denver- where there was also quite a bit of snow. And cold- about 35 for  the high.

I drank beer and was a good "sport"

Despite the snow and cold, I remembered to praise God daily for all he has given me. I also drank coffee out of an aeropress everyday. I need to get one!

Went running.... again. Getting warmer!

Drank more beer. 

Pigged out at Watercourse Foods 

Tasted this quinoa miso dish

Yummed all over these polenta cakes and tomatoes...

Hung out with these guys every night! Brothers <3

Bounced around at Jazz Night

Went running.... Decided I should live in this adorable house. 

Visited the Great Divide Brewery with Brandon,  my brothers roomie. Drank beer.

Went running on a sun-shiny day-- 65 degrees. More like it!!

Visited with my old Millikin buddy Laurie. Drank this awesome beer. 

Cooked for brothers. Pulled this recipe off of pinterest. The brothers and Brandon loved it. Click here for the recipe!

Forced Ryan to hang out with me....again.

Tasted beers at OMF (Our Mutual Friend Brewery) Time to go home in the morning...

Stopped in MO to visit baby brother Chris on the way home. Realized his arm is larger than my thigh, suddenly.  Jeez I look tired, eh?

Arrived home to flowers from Miki and my new-ish boyfriend Mike. That was a lovely end to the trip :)

Hope you enjoyed the photos!
-Em

Panang Curry with Tofu

So I've transitioned from my busy life as a high school swimming coach to a much less busy life as a Girls on the Run coach at my school. Sometimes as a vegan it's hard to bite your tongue. Like when I hear someone say "But milk makes your bones strong." Or "Meat is good for building muscles". While I just want to shake the person and tell them to read Brendan Brazier's Thrive diet, or watch Forks over Knives,  that hasn't worked for me in the past. I've learned to bite my tongue. Especially when it comes to educating my students. Biting my tongue through the nutrition portion of the GOTR classes...!

On the other hand, 2 co-workers of mine have approached ME about wanted to go vegan. I gave them my resources and they are on board! Ah see, the power of eating your salad in silence :)  One of them, Tiffany, is a 3rd grade teacher and is an avid runner like me. The other one, Justin, is our school librarian. 

Amber is still a once a week vegan. :) And I am still getting my bi-weekly free facials. Last week Amber wanted a vegan panang curry and this is what I came up with!

Vegan Panang Curry with Tofu

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs coconut oil
• 2 tbs chopped garlic
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 2 tbs red curry paste
• 2 cans coconut milk (I used light but by mistake. I think it would have been better with regular)
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbs lime juice
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1 cup chopped white mushrooms
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 tbs basil
• 8oz cubed extra firm tofu
• 1 small broccoli head, chopped
• 1 jalepeno, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 cups baby spinach

Directions:

1. In a large pan, heat the oil, garlic, and ginger on medium- high heat. Add in the curry paste, basil, and onion and saute for 5 minutes. 
2. Whisk in coconut milk, maple syrup, soy sauce, and lime juice. 
3. Add the veggies and tofu and cook until the vegetables are soft.
4. Top with cashews.

I served this with Jasmine rice and it was perfect!

Hope you enjoyed this one. I am off to Denver for a week to visit my brothers. When I get home it will be spring, right? I can dream.

-Em

Veggie Fajitas and Mexican Quinoa

My friend Amber and I have this deal going on. Amber is an Esthetician who likes vegan food. I am a vegan... who likes to cook....and I kinda like my face. I cook Amber vegan dinners every week, and she gives me facials :) It's a pretty sweet deal.

This week I decided to do Mexican for Amber because I haven't in a while! Fajita's are hard to mess up. The Mexican Quinoa was an experiment gone terribly right!

Mexican Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 Spanish onion, chopped
• 1 small jalapeno, sliced
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 tbs nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella

Instructions:

1. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Stir in quinoa and bring to a simmer. add all ingredients except nutritional yeast and mozzarella and cover.
2. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add nutritional yeast and salt and pepper.  
3. Continue to simmer until all the water is absorbed. Stir in the mozzarella last.

Veggie Fajitas

Ingredients:

• 1 Spanish Onion, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 small stalk broccoli, chopped.
• 1/4 head of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
• 1 cup butternut squash, cubed
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne red pepper
• splash of lemon juice
• splash of lime juice
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tbs coconut oil
• Salt and pepper if desired.
• 6 small flour tortillas

Instructions:

1. Heat the coconut oil over medium/high heat. Saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, reduce heat to medium and cover. 
2. Cook until vegetables are soft. 
3. Serve on a flour tortilla with cilantro on top. We had ours with the Mexican quinoa, and guacamole. =)

Sorry about slacking on my blogging. I have been real busy and work has taken it's toll on me. Things haven't been going the greatest- will fill you in more later, but I am hanging in there.  I'm just thankful I have such a wonderful support system- like a coworkers who will send my favorite kindergartner to deliver me a hug and some vegan cookies in the morning.

I also apparently have a guardian angel who likes to leave notes on my car, so I've got that going for me. I guess it's the little things in life :)

 Hopefully I will have another recipe for you in a week or so!

-Em

Holiday Cheesecake

Christmas was not the same this year because my baby brother was not home. He calls once a week for 10 minutes, and I am usually not around when he calls. We have been writing back and forth and he seems to be doing well. When we sat down to have dessert on Christmas we all wrote him a letter--- why there are pens with my pie haha! This was my first attempt at a vegan cheesecake.... well actually any cheesecake. It turned out pretty good! I found the original recipe from fatfreevegan.com and modified it.

Vegan Eggnog Cheesecake
 Ingredients:

•  12.3 ounce package extra firm silken tofu
• 8 ounce vegan cream cheese
• 1/2 cup vegan eggnog
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 3 tbs brandy
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 3 tbs cornstarch
• egg replacer for 1 egg
• 1 prepared graham cracker crust

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Drain the tofu and put it and the Tofutti cream cheese into your food processor. Blend until smooth. Add the sugar and eggnog, and process again until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except crust) and process until completely smooth, about 3 more minutes. Pour into the pie crust and bake in the middle of the oven for about 55 minutes (do not allow to brown). Filling will be slightly jiggly, not completely set until chilled.
2. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate until completely chilled (the longer, the better). Serve sprinkled with additional grated nutmeg.

Post Pie Nap

I apologize for being MIA lately. I really am busier than ever. I work 7 days a week and often 10-12 hour days. Coaching is going very well though! We have 2 months left in the HS boys swim season. Here is a picture of my team on Christmas Eve. I dressed Miki up as Santa and brought them come cookies. 

They are just a great group of boys. I will be able to post more often after February when season is over! Hope you all have a safe and happy new year :)

-Em

Sweet Tater Chili for Chris

This post is in honor of my baby brother Christoper. =)

So my baby brother left today for his training for the Air National Guard. My dad said he was actually kind of sad because the "last cub left the den". And my mom keeps texting me saying she misses her little cub. I honestly really thought they would be throwing a party by now. I mean everyone is gone. They just have a poodle now! No offence, Reine!

Huh?

I made this black bean and sweet potato chili for Chris for lunch yesterday. Because really, what's better than sweet potatoes... and black beans.... and chili on a cold day before your brother gets his butt kicked in basic training? Good luck Christopher! See you in January at your graduation, I hope! :)

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• One red onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or cooking oil of choice)
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15.5 oz can blac beans, drained
• 1 15.15 oz can chili beans * 
• 1/4 cup corn
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and Pepper
• Sliced scallions, vegan sour cream, vegan cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips (all optional)

I used mild because my mom is a baby and that would have just been too much considering I put a whole jalapeno pepper in there already. 

Method:

1. Bake the sweet potatoes at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until just firm. Allow to cool, then peel and slice the potatoes into small cubes. Set aside. 
2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. add the garlic and onions and saute until softened. 
3. Add the bell pepper, jalepeno pepper, tomatoes, beans, water, and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. 
4. Add the potatoes and corn. Simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. 
5. Top each serving with sliced scallions, vegan sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips (optional).

My mom made her Napa Cabage salad to go along with this. It's the best salad! Anyway, this is an awesome chili recipe and I will surely make it again! Until next time :)

-Em

STL RnR Marathon & The Rest of October

Emilies and I reunited at the RnR expo

Emilies and I after the Race. Emily ZK got second overall with a time of 2:55. Amazing!

October was such a fun month! After the Chicago Marathon I was on a bit of a runners high... especially considering I qualified for Boston. I decided to wait and run the marathon in 2014. I might even be able to get mom and dad on board. I think they are starting to realize what a big deal it is to me! 2 weeks after Chicago, my teammate Emily B and I paced the 4:30 group at Rock n Roll marathon with Michelob Ultra in Saint Louis. We had a BLAST. We even got to see the Emily Z (who we now refer to as Emily ZK since she is now married).

While I havent had the time of day to cook a good meal for myself, I've still managed to throw a few things together for friends. One thing I love about the fall is that soup actually sounds so GOOD. I made this awesome butternut squash and apple soup for my friend Dora.
Here is what I did to make the soup:

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 rib of celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbs coconut oil

Method:

1. heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and saute for about 5 minutes. 
2. Add the squash, apple, and broth. bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for until the squash and carrots are soft (about 30 minutes). 
3. Puree in a blender and return to the pot. add the spices and you are done!

Hope you enjoy!