Kale Rice and Vegan No-chicken Broth

Our family recently decided to have a little lunch outing - we had promised dates with the boys for their birthdays and this was the first chance to do it. Frank took Keith to lunch and I took Braedon. Unfortunately, finding a restaurant that has not only gluten free but also vegan fare is a challenge but I was thrilled to find a new restaurant that offered both! We tried "The Rim - Greens and Grilled". I had a beautiful plate of kale white rice, a mound of fresh, crisp tender sauteed veggies, and sweet potato fries. It was delicious! Though the veggies did have some added oil, they weren't greasy and I didn't indulge in too many of the fries as I was much more enamored with the colorful plate of veggies! Though we rarely frequent restaurants, this was a place I would be happy to go back to.                                                                              


Since our visit to "The Rim", I have been craving the kale rice for some strange reason!  Oddly enough, there was no seasoning or added flare, it was just tiny chopped kale mixed in to white rice. The end result was perfect simplicity.



 I have since made this dish at home and it pairs beautifully with a plate of water-sauteed veggies, sprinkled with some sea salt and fresh pepper - utterly delightful!


Quite frequently, I make veggie stock for use in soups, stews and sauces and the other day I made a pot of broth that was flavorful and full-bodied. The keys? Mushroom stems and nutritional yeast! These two ingredients seemed to create the perfect combination. I didn't use a recipe but rather filled my pot with filtered water, carrot peels, mushroom stems, leeks, fresh parsley, nutritional yeast, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper. A wonderful foundation for any soup or stew!

Happy spring cooking!

Fancy Vegan Easter Stacks, Gluten-free Fruit Pie

It saddens me a bit to see how long it has been since I last posted. I have discovered that not everything can take priority in my life and therefore, some things must patiently wait for my attention (ie. this blog!).

I have some fun new recipes to share from recent weeks...

Easter is one of my favorite holidays of the year. By far, it is my favorite Sunday of the year...reflecting on what Jesus did for us never ceases to bring intense joy to my heart. I love to create incredibly special menu items for this day shared with family around a big dinner table and though not everyone is interested to try my vegan creations, it still thrills me when I make something scrumptious!

This year I made fancy Easter stacks that turned out pretty fabulous. They were a bit of work to put together but well-worth the effort in my opinion.

1. First, I marinated a block of drained, pressed, sliced tofu in a lemon dill marinade (recipe here - I only used the Lemon Dill Dressing marinade - eliminated the oil) and then baked the tofu at 400 for about 15-20 min.

2. I then marinated and cooked portobello mushrooms (marinade recipe here - instead of cooking all together in a skillet at first, I marinated the mushrooms in the ingredients overnight and then cooked them in a skillet with the marinade until tender). When cooked, I sliced the portobellos.

3. Next I made a balsamic reduction by simmering 3/4 cup of balsamic vinegar with 3 T maple syrup until reduced by half.

4. I cut thick slices of tomato.

5. I made an avocado cream sauce by placing a block of extra firm silkin tofu in the blender until smooth. To the tofu I added a ripe, seeded, peeled avocado, 1/2 t dill, a sprinkle of sea salt, a few cracks of fresh pepper, and the juice and zest of 1 lemon and whirred all in the blender until well blended.

6. On a plate I placed several slices of tofu, topped this layer with a couple slices of portobello, followed by a tomato slice, a few drizzles of balsamic reduction and finished it off with a large dollop of avocado cream.

Like I said, a little time-consuming but the end result was delicious!

My sweet and thoughtful family made sure that there were plenty of gluten-free, vegan options for me on the Easter table, including Artichoke Mashed Potatoes made by my sister-in-law (amazing, btw!) and this fresh fruit pie made by my mom. The fruit pie recipe is from the Engine 2 cookbook and can be found here. Don't let the simple list of ingredients fool you! This pie was amazing and there was not a crumb left!