Cilantro Lime Pesto

Cilantro Lime Pesto (all measurements are approximate)

• 2 bunches of cilantro - washed and big stems removed
• juice of 2 limes
• about 1/3 cup of walnuts
• about 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• fresh ground sea salt & fresh ground pepper
• olive oil

1. pulse together walnuts, sunflower seeds, garlic, lime juice in food processor, scraping down as needed
2. add cilantro and continue to pulse until everything is all smooshed together and well combined
3. with food processor running pour in olive oil until desired consistency
   

I have added chopped fresh tomatoes, (tofutti) cream cheese and (tofutti) sour cream and used it on pasta (YUM) and tonight I added probably equal parts mayo and pesto with juice of a lime as salad dressing. We had the pesto mixed in to steamed rice. We have also used it as dip with tortilla chips.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Basic dairy-free chocolate chip cookies. The big trick with using Earth Balance for cookies is never melt it, no matter what the original recipe says. I make a big batch and refrigerate/freeze the extra dough for later use. I always add a little extra vanilla to recipes. Adapted from - Best Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1.5 cups Earth Balance

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2+ tablespoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

3+ cups semisweet chocolate chips

 

1.	Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2.	Sift/whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3.	In bowl of stand mixer, cream together the Earth Balance, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, eggs, and egg yolks until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Drop cookie dough one cookie scoop at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4.	Bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

 

Black Bean, Corn & Tomato Salad

half a bag of TJ's frozen white corn, defrosted
can of TJ's black beans, rinsed
half a large tomato chopped fine
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 clove garlic, minced and smashed with a few turns of fresh ground sea salt
a pinch of sugar
can of mild rotel
red wine vinegar
vegetable oil

Mix together corn, beans, tomato and onion. In a small bowl whisk together garlic, 2 tablespoons juice from the can of rotel, sugar, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Add more rotel juice, vinegar or oil to taste. Mix dressing in to salad along with several tablespoons of rotel to taste.

Big hit for kid #2 as long as I picked out the red onion bits. #1 was a fan too. Husband had it over lettuce and didn't complain - I guess that is good.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

This is probably how we should have brought our giant zucchini home!

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons
ground cinnamon
5 eggs
   
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup olive oil
2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 cups grated zucchini
2 cups chopped walnuts
Half a package of TJ’s semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1.     Grease and flour two 9 x 6 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2.     Whiskflours, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3.     Beat eggs, oils, vanilla, and sugars together in stand mixer until combined. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini, nuts and chocolate chips until well combined. Scoop batter into prepared pans.
4.     Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Coconut-Peant Thai Chicken with Rice Noodles

6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
oil to coat the pan
1 can coconut milk
3 oz water
2 T curry paste
2-4 T peanut butter
2-4 T fish sauce
1 red pepper
1/2 medium yellow onion
1/2 lb frozen french green beans
1 package of rice noodles, boiled for 2 minutes and then left to soak for 10+ minutes

brown chicken in oil
add all remaining ingredients except rice noodles and simmer, stirring often until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender
serve over cooked rice noodles
serve with Sriracha rooster sauce for the braver diners 


5 STAR rating from the whole family

Rice with Cilantro Sauce

Adapted from Epicurious (link below)

Mexican Rice
1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 large red onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

scant 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño 

2.5 cups long-grain white rice

4.5 cups low-salt chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeño; sauté until onion is translucent, about 9 minutes. Mix in rice; stir 2 minutes. Mix in broth and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is just tender and broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Transfer rice to bowl; cool to barely lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. Top with Cilantro Sauce. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Note: served warm - very good. Might be nice to try as a room temp or chilled salad with extra fresh veggies and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. 

Cilantro-Lime Sauce
1 1/4 cups (packed) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons white vinegar

Juice of 2 small limes

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon minced seeded jalapeño 

Mix all together in a blender. 

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mexican-Rice-109800#ixzz0uvkoOILw

Late Night Protein Shake

1 cup chocolate Rice Dream
1 cup plain soymilk
3 tablespoons unsweetened almond butter
1 tablespoon unsweetened chocolate powder
2 teensie tiny scoops of TJ's stevia powder
2 big handfuls of ice

Blend until smooth. Makes for a GIGANTOR shake.