diani living » The Kind Diet http://dianiliving.com A Life Less Ordinary Mon, 20 May 2013 00:45:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Fiesta Feast http://dianiliving.com/2012/blog/fiesta-feast/ http://dianiliving.com/2012/blog/fiesta-feast/#comments Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:00:56 +0000 dianiliving http://dianiliving.com/?p=3432 Fiesta Feast
As Santa Barbara prepares to celebrate Old Spanish Days Fiesta next week, I’m planning my own celebration with my favorite, easy vegan dishes with a Mexican flare.  Let me know what you think!   SHABAN’S GUACAMOLE The wonderful cook Shaban, who I’ve known for many years in Kenya, gave me this recipe. SERVES 4 Ingredients [...]]]> Fiesta Feast
As Santa Barbara prepares to celebrate Old Spanish Days Fiesta next week, I'm planning my own celebration with my favorite, easy vegan dishes with a Mexican flare.  Let me know what you think!  

SHABAN'S GUACAMOLE

The wonderful cook Shaban, who I've known for many years in Kenya, gave me this recipe.

SERVES 4

Ingredients

4 avocados
1/2 red onion
3 roma tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
1/2 fresh lime, squeezed
1 tbsp Veganaise
Tabasco sauce to taste
Bunch of chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Chop the avocado, onion, and tomato, and add to a mixing bowl. Mince the garlic and squeeze the lime. Add to the bowl. Add the veganaise, tabasco sauce and chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chips.  

THE DIANI MARGI

As some of you know, I like tequila... a lot. I try to avoid sugary mixers and stick to fresh ingredients. Try my take on the classic margarita.

Ingredients

Tequila
French Lemonade
Lime
Agave nectar

Directions

In a rock glass filled with plenty of ice, pour in your favorite tequila to half full (a silver tequila works best). Add a splash of organic French Lemonade (I like Trader Joe's). Squeeze in half a fresh lime. It's that easy and delicious! If you have a sweet tooth, you can add a little agave nectar.  

TOASTED NORI BURRITOS

I found this recipe in Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet and it became an instant favorite. It's a perfect substitute to a heavy, cheese loaded burrito.

SERVES 2

Ingredients

1 umeboshi plum
1 cup of cooked brown rice
2 sheets toasted nori
2 romaine lettuce leaves
1 avocado, sliced
1 apple, sliced
4 fresh basil leaves
Leaves from 6 cilantro sprigs
Salad greens

Directions

Tear the umeboshi plum into little pieces and discard the pit. Place half the rice on each sheet of nori and top with the remaining ingredients.Roll the nori into a cone shape around the filling; if it's rolled tightly, you can seal the edges by wetting your finger to dampen the edges of the nori. Viva La Fiesta!]]> http://dianiliving.com/2012/blog/fiesta-feast/feed/ 0 Baby Shower Brunch Dishes – All Vegan! http://dianiliving.com/2012/blog/plate/baby-shower-brunch-dishes-all-vegan/ http://dianiliving.com/2012/blog/plate/baby-shower-brunch-dishes-all-vegan/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 17:08:19 +0000 dianiliving http://dianiliving.com/?p=2285 peach and mint iced tea
I’m almost (if it wasn’t for my love affair with fish) vegan now and sometimes get stumped on some hearty, protein filled summer salads. However, I recently found this recipe with lima beans, and now I’m hooked! SUMMERTIME SUCCOTASH INGREDIENTS Serves 6 1 tbsp Earth Balance butter 1 tsp olive oil 1 cup diced red [...]]]> peach and mint iced tea
I'm almost (if it wasn't for my love affair with fish) vegan now and sometimes get stumped on some hearty, protein filled summer salads. However, I recently found this recipe with lima beans, and now I'm hooked!

Vegan Succotash

SUMMERTIME SUCCOTASH

INGREDIENTS Serves 6
1 tbsp Earth Balance butter 1 tsp olive oil 1 cup diced red onion 1 garlic clove, minced 1 (10 oz) package frozen baby lima beans, thawed (or 2 cups fresh shelled, if you dare!) 1 cup fresh or frozen corn 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil 1 tbsp white or red balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Heat the butter and oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until the onion begins to brown. Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the lima beans, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the corn and tomatoes, and sauté 1 minute longer or until just heated through. You don't want the tomatoes to collapse and release their juices. Remove from the heat, and stir in the parsley, basil, and vinegar. Serve warm or chilled. Good all on it's own, or with white jasmine rice topped with toasted sunflower seeds. For a complete meal, serve with some steamed bok choy or watercress.

Vegan Brunch Recipes

PEACH CRUMBLE - Vegan and delicious!

I'm loving this recipe for summer as it's so light and so easy to make. I just made it this weekend for my assistant's baby shower.

INGREDIENTS Serves 4-6

2.5 - 3 cups sliced fresh peaches 1 cup organic blueberries 1.75 cups apple juice 2 tablespoons kuzu 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Pinch of fine sea salt

Topping

3 cups rolled oats 2 cups brown rice flour .25 teaspoon fine sea salt .25 teaspoon ground cinnamon .75 cup safflower oil .75 cup brown rice syrup .25 cup maple syrup 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the peaches and blueberries in a 9" square baking pan. Reserve .25 cup of the apple juice in a small bowl, and heat the remaining 1.5 cups in a small saucepan. Place the kuzu in a small bowl, and add in the reserved apple juice. Let the kuzu mixture sit for about 10 seconds so that the kuzu can dissolve into the liquid. Stir with a fork, and immediately whisk the kuzu mixture and the lemon juice into the hot apple juice, stirring continually to prevent any lumps from forming. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, and add the vanilla extract and the salt. Pour over the peaches and blueberries in the pan.

Peach Crumble

To make the topping, dry roast the oats, flour, salt and cinnamon in a skillet over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Heat the oil and syrups together in a separate pan, then pour over the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in the nuts. Crumble the topping over the fruit, then cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for 15 - 25 minutes longer or until the topping is golden and the fruit filling bubbles a little. Cool crumble for about 30 minutes before serving.

peach and mint iced tea

PEACH AND MINT ICED TEA

This is such a refreshing drink and so perfect for a garden gathering like the baby shower I just hosted.
 

INGREDIENTS

4-6 green tea bags
4 ripe peaches, pitted and cut in quarter inch pieces
1 small bunch fresh mint
Maple syrup to taste (I actually didn't end up using any, it was sweet enough)
 

DIRECTIONS

Bring water to a boil in a kettle, and place the teabags in a heatproof pitcher. Add 8 cups of boiling water to the pitcher, and steep for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the teabags, and allow the tea to cool to room temperature.
When cooled, add the peaches and the mint to the tea. Sweeten with maple syrup to taste, if desired, and chill until ready to serve.
  All recipes from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.]]> http://dianiliving.com/2012/blog/plate/baby-shower-brunch-dishes-all-vegan/feed/ 2