Quinoa Lettuce Wraps with Easy Peanut Sauce

Need some motivation to help you eat your veggies? 

Or perhaps you're a bit bored in the quinoa department and are looking for a little recipe inspiration? 

I've got you covered. Today's recipe is fresh quinoa lettuce wraps and an easy peanut sauce that comes together in a snap! You're gonna love these!

For the recipe, be sure to head on over to my guest post at Cooking Quinoa. I love Wendy's blog because she is so creative when it comes to making new recipes with quinoa and creating dishes that the whole family will enjoy. (And who knew there were so many amazing ways to use a single ingredient?!)

Peach Fried Rice

When you are looking for a new apartment, there are a lot of things to consider: the price, size, neighborhood, amenities, access to public transportation, etc.  But for me?  It's all about the kitchen. Obviously.

Is there a dishwasher?  What kind of storage are we talking about here?  Will I have space for fermenting kimchi?  Is the apartment close enough that I can walk to a farmers market or a food co-op?  And don't even get me started on access to natural light for photographing food.  That's a whole other post.

I'm pretty resourceful when it comes to space.  For the last two years I've been living in a 460 square-foot apartment with my partner and two cats.  That's a huge feat right there.  But we've definitely outgrown the space and now it's time to move on to something a bit bigger.  But I sure will miss my kitchen...

Peach fried rice is the perfect way to say goodbye.  Whether it's goodbye to a visiting relative, the end of peach season, or goodbye to your adorable little kitchen, I think this dish will leave a lasting impression.

I recommend making the rice ahead of time so it has a chance to cool in the fridge. (Cooling it first will give it the best texture in the fried rice.)  I also recommend soaking the rice in water for a few hours or overnight to help increase its digestibility and the ability of your body to absorb all of the nutrients from the rice.  If you're in a time crunch, you can skip this step or you can substitute a quick-cooking grain like quinoa.  This recipe is very adaptable so feel free to substitute any veggies of your choosing.

Peach Fried Rice
Serves 4

1 cup brown rice, soaked overnight
2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 block organic extra-firm tofu, drained and diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 zucchini, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 peach, pitted and diced
2 tablespoons Bragg liquid aminos
1/4 cup fresh basil chiffonade
sea salt and pepper to taste

Soak rice in water for a few hours or overnight (this will help to increase its digestibility).  Drain.  Add rice to a medium pot with a tight-fitting lid.  Add 2 cups of water.  Cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Check the rice.  If the rice is slightly chewy, remove the lid and cook until the rest of the water is evaporated. If the rice is still hard, replace lid and continue to cook for about 15 minutes, until rice is chewy. When rice is ready, remove from heat.  Allow to cool in the refrigerator until using.  

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan over medium heat.  Add the tofu and saute 5 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tofu is evenly browned.  

In a separate pan over medium heat, add the remaining tablespoon of oil.  Add onions, zucchini, and carrots and saute for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and saute 1 - 2 additional minutes, until fragrant.  Add the peach, cooled rice, and liquid aminos and saute for 5 - 10 minutes, until veggies are crisp-tender.  Add the fresh basil just before serving and season with salt and pepper as desired.

Raw Zucchini and Tomato Lasagna

I have this weird habit when I eat where I pick through my food and eat the things I dislike first.  A couple of months ago I came up with a theory about this.  I think the way that I eat is similar to the way I live my life: I always put work before pleasure.

Although this has served me well and gotten me to where I am today, this way of life has more flaws than benefits.  When you eat the things you dislike first, you become full by the time you get to the stuff you enjoy.  Same with life.  If you spend all your time putting work before everything else, you have very little time and room in your life to do the things that bring you the most joy.  In a lot of ways I think that kids may have it right... maybe dessert before dinner makes total sense.

For the past couple of months I've been making it a priority to schedule in time for rest, breaks, and things I find pleasurable.  And then today I noticed something new.  I didn't dismantle this lasagna and eat the zucchini first (which I would have done in the past).  Instead, I ate it together.  I think this might be a sign of more-balanced living and good things to come.

If you are wondering what the heck to do with your abundance of summer zucchini, this lasagna is the answer.  This recipe is simple, doesn't require a stove (thank goodness!), and uses the best of summer's bounty: squash, tomatoes, and basil.  I also love this raw nut "cheese" and it adds the perfect bit of fat and flavor to complement these beautiful tomatoes.




Once you have your ingredients, we start with the layers...

Tomatoes.

Basil.

And tomatoes.

I happened to have cherry tomatoes on hand, but you could definitely use large heirloom tomato slices instead. This recipe is very flexible and you can easily substitute other fillings if desired.  If you don't want to use the raw almond cheese, raw pesto also adds a fabulous flavor to this lasagna.

Raw Zucchini and Tomato Lasagna
Serves 2

1 zucchini
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh basil chiffonade
Raw almond cheese (see recipe below)
freshly-ground pepper

Chop ends off of zucchini and cut zucchini in half.  Use a mandolin or very sharp knife to slice zucchini into thin slices.  Lay two slices side-by-side and then top with fillings, layering between more zucchini slices. Garnish with pepper and serve.

Raw Almond "Cheese"
1/3 cup raw almonds
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 - 3 tablespoons water, or more as needed
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

Soak almonds in water for at least 1 hour, then drain. Add almonds to a food processor with salt, nutritional yeast, and 1 tablespoon of water to start.  Scrape down the sides of the processor and add more water as necessary until it reaches a consistency similar to ricotta.  Add the chives at the last second and pulse until incorporated.

Recipe submitted to Wellness Weekend

Cucumber Peach Salad

I am an ugly crier.  No really.  Remember in Bridesmaids when Rose Byrne is crying and Kristin Wiig says that she is an ugly crier?  She doesn't even know what ugly crying is.

I suppose this wouldn't be too much of a problem except that I tend to cry during movies... a lot.  The Vow?  Yep.  Hunger Games?  Check.  Brave?  Definitely.  And don't even ask me about the Finding Nemo incident of 2006.  That was a legendary ugly crying moment.

Here's the important thing that you need to know as an ugly crier:  how to hide the signs.  No one wants to go out in the world with red, puffy eyes.  No one. So you quickly learn tricks like using chamomile tea bags and (my personal favorite) cucumber slices to calm the eyes.

If you're an ugly crier, I advise you to keep cucumber on hand at all times.  And, if you happen to have a cucumber and a peach handy,  you might want to consider making yourself this salad.  After all, you probably need a snack after all that crying.

This recipe is so easy and the lack of cooking makes it perfect for summer.  I love packing it up for picnics because it also travels really well.  If you find yourself stuck in a situation without a fork, this salad will be just fine as finger food.

Cucumber Peach Salad
Serves 4

1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 medium peaches, pitted, and sliced
2 tablespoons fresh basil chiffonade

Thinly-slice the cucumber and marinate slices in rice vinegar for at least 1 hour in the fridge.  Toss with the peaches just prior to serving and garnish with basil. 

Raw Beet Ravioli

Why is it that women in action films always run around with their hair down?  This isn't real life. Come on.

In real life, I can barely stand to have my hair down when I'm sitting at my desk... let alone running two miles after a car chase while carrying a giant gun.  You know if this were you that you'd have your hair tied up.

And if you had really been running around for a day and a half without sleep or a shower, your hair would not be looking so good.  You can't fool me, Kate Beckinsdale.  (Although your hair is gorgeous. Really.)

The point is, I'm not going to try to fool you here.  These aren't real ravioli.  There I said it.  These are slices of raw beets filled with a creamy nut "cheese" and topped with pesto oil.  It isn't pasta. But it sure is tasty.  For reals.

Thanks to all of you on Facebook this week who shared your beet recipe suggestions!  In the end I decided that I had to keep it simple, so here you go.  This recipe is easy, fast and makes the perfect summer dinner when paired with a nice salad (like this one). Enjoy!

Raw Beet Ravioli
Serves 4

3 - 4 medium candy-striped beets (or any color of your choice)
Raw almond "cheese" (recipe below)
Pesto oil (recipe below)
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Chop the ends and tops off the beets and thinly slice using a mandolin slicer or a sharp knife.  Lay one slice flat, top with a little nut "cheese" and lay another beet slice on top.  Drizzle with pesto oil.   Top with freshly-ground black pepper and serve.

Pesto Oil
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Add the basil, garlic, and sea salt to a food processor and pulse.  With the motor running, add the olive oil and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.


Raw Almond "Cheese"
1/3 cup raw almonds
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 - 3 tablespoons water, or more as needed
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

Soak almonds in water for at least 1 hour, then drain. Add almonds to a food processor with salt, nutritional yeast, and 1 tablespoon of water to start.  Scrape down the sides of the processor and add more water as necessary until it reaches a consistency similar to ricotta.  Add the chives at the last second and pulse until incorporated.

Basil Cashew Mayo

I have this habit of leaving my gym bag pockets unzipped.  It's partly because I'm lazy, but it's also partly because I have never had anything fall out so I never had incentive to zip them up.  Well, that was until two weeks ago when I lost my eyeliner.  And since it was a bit pricey, I am sure you can imagine how excited I was when I found it in my yard a few days ago.  Even though it was a bit weathered and the brand name had been rubbed off, it still worked great.

However, this morning upon closer inspection of the weathered brand name, I discovered that this was not actually my eyeliner.  Lesson learned: zip your gym bag and don't use eyeliner you find in your yard. 

Another important lesson I learned this week is how to make amazingly creamy mayo -- without the eggs or added oils!  So let's get to work!

I've been craving a creamy spread for sandwiches this week so I went searching for healthier mayo options.  This mayo uses silken tofu and cashews for a creamy, oil-free and egg-free spread that will delight your tastebuds and amp up any cold sandwich.  Add basil or your favorite herbs for an extra boost of summer delight.

Recipe submitted to Wellness Weekend

Basil Cashew Mayo
Adapted from Fat Free Vegan
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 block organic firm silken tofu
1/3 cup raw cashews
1/2 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
sea salt to taste
1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves

Drain water from tofu and place tofu, cashews, mustard, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt in a high-speed blender or food processor.  Blend at highest speed until light and creamy.  Add the basil and blend again.  Seal tightly and keep refrigerated. Stir before each use.