Spicy Chinese Green Beans

 
Ben and I brought this as a picnic lunch to the farmed animal sanctuary Animal Acres...very zen lunch (that is until the chickens came to eat our lunch haha).

Serves 2; prep time ~20 mins 

Ingredients:
-1 lbs fresh green beans
- handful of raw cashews
- 1/2 package of firm or extra firm tofu
- 2 tbs soy sauce (or braggs aminos)
- 1 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp (or to taste) chili paste like siracha  - although be careful some of these sauces have fish oil in them....
- 1 tbsp chili oil (or sesame oil if you don't like spicy)
- dash ground ginger (or fresh if you like it...gross)
- 2 cloves diced garlic
- rice if you want to serve it with a carb

Instructions:
- start the rice if you want it
- prep green beans by chopping ends off
- saute garlic and cashews in chili oil for 2ish mins
- meanwhile mix all other ingredients (except green beans and tofu) in a separate bowl
- then add the green beans, tofu, and sauce mix and stir-fry for 5-7 mins
- serve with rice and enjoy!

Herbed 'ricotta'

this can be used on anything, as a sandwhich spread, pizza cheese or creamy sauce, baked with pasta, in lasagna, stuffed in shells etc. origional recipe is made with no soaked cashews so that would work too (and be lower calorie), but I think the flavor is better with nuts.


Yeilds 2 cups, prep time 5 mins.


Ingredients:
- 1 box mori-nu silken tofu
- 1 cup raw cashews (soaked over night...its fine if you don't do this but the texture is smoother if you do)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp basil (I used all dried herbs but I suppose it would be better with fresh?)
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- dash of black pepper
(other spices could be good too...like thyme or parsley)

Instructions:
- blend all ingredients to a fine paste

*NOTE: when I make this I usually blend in some steamed veggies (like broccoli or zuccini to enhance the nutritional value - it does change the flavor but not by much)

Samosa Latkas

with spicy cilantro chutney 

yummm...so this recipe was born of the fact that whole foods didnt have any samosa wrappers so I decided to make the samosa filling anyway and just pan fry it like a latka! Turns out to be healthier as well becuase the samosa aren't fried (I'm using my fantasic new oil spritzer which mists instead of drenches my food in olive oil! As a side note I seriously use this for everything and although some brands of misters are sub par I have found an awesome one...Ill post the brand later). Plus the cilantro chutney is to die for...the more chilies the better!

Samosas serve 1 hungry person (skimpy recipe...double it at least!!) Cilantro chutney serves 2 as a condiment 
Prep/cook time: ~20 mins if using leftover potatoes longer if making your own

Ingredients: **I have to admit I eyeballed the main ingredients (potatoes, onion & peas) to get the proportions I like so this is an approximation.
- 1/4 cup diced yellow onion
- 2/3 cup thawed frozen peas
- 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes (made mine from scratch...didnt take that long just microwaved the potatoes and mashed them with a fork so there were chunk left - I like the lump consistency but by all means puree away!)
- 2 tsp mustar (seeds or ground works)
- 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cayenne (optional) 
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric

Instructions:
- saute onion in a little olive oil for 2ish mins
- add peas and spices and cook 2ish more mins
- stir in potato and cook until heated through and remove mixture from stove (I had to stir in the potato in a separate bowl bc it was easier but whatevs works for you is fine)
- heat a little oil in a separate pan (or the same one after the mixture is put in anther bowl)
- form samosa mix into pancake shaped patties and pan fry until crisp on outside (you dont need that much oil, I just spritzed each side of the latka)

Cilantro Chutney
This would be divine on anything...unless you think cilantro tastes like 'hellweed' *cough* murat *cough*

Ingredients:
- 1 large bunch cilantro
- 3-4 chopped serano chilies (or less if you dont like spicy)
- 3 tbsps fresh squeezed lemon juice
- dash ground ginger (or fresh if you like that...yuck)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin (seeds would work too)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp oil

Instructions:
- blend all ingredients except cilantro to a paste
- slowly add cilantro and blend to a paste and enjoy!

*NOTE: you can make extra and freeze it in ice cube trays if you want!