Recipe We Love: Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Squash with Dried Cranberries & Dijon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks)
  • 1 lb Brussels Sprouts, stems trimmed and sliced lengthwise in half
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + 1 teaspoon
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Dijon Vinaigrette:

  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • two pinches of salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the butternut squash chunks and halved Brussels sprouts on a large baking sheet. Drizzle them with the 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and toss them with your hands to distribute the oil evenly.
  2. Sprinkle the vegetables evenly with kosher salt and pepper, and toss them again with your hands. Spread the vegetables out evenly onto the baking sheet (tip: flip the Brussels sprouts so they are cut side down, they will caramelize much more evenly this way).
  3. Roast the vegetables at 450 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing them gently 1 to 2 times during the roasting time to ensure that they caramelize evenly on all sides. Scatter the dried cranberries onto baking sheet in the last five minutes of roasting time. Place the baking pan on a rack, toss the vegetables with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil, and allow them to cool slightly while you prepare the Dijon vinaigrette.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard and rice wine vinegar. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking continuously with your other hand, until the ingredients are emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Gently place the roasted vegetables in large bowl. Pour on the Dijon vinaigrette and toss the vegetables gently until they are lightly dressed. Serve warm, lukewarm, or cold

Recipe We Love: Veggie-Packed Vegan Curry

Stay tuned for a new recipe we love each week to celebrate Meatless Monday. 

Ingredients

1 cup/50g fresh cilantro, leaves cut from the stalks and finely chopped
2 tablespoon red curry paste
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
1 tablespoon tomato pureé
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 white onion, finely chopped
pinch salt
14oz/400g butternut squash or pumpkin, peeled and cubed
5oz/150g green beans, ends cut off
2oz/50g spinach
juice of 1 lime
Ginger + Lime Cauliflower Rice Ingredients

1 cauliflower, outer leaves discarded and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
2 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
3 tablespoon water
Preparation

1. In a food processor or blender blend the coriander stalks, red curry paste, coconut milk, tomato purée and turmeric.

2. Heat the coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat for 1 minute. Put the onions into the pan. Sauté them for 5 minutes with a pinch of salt. Add the squash and stir-fry for 1 minute, then pour in the blended mix, bring to a simmer and let this cook for 10 minutes. Add the green beans and spinach and cook for another 20 minutes until the pumpkin is cooked through.

3. Meanwhile, make the Ginger + Lime Rice. Put the roughly chopped cauliflower into a food processor and process for a few minutes until you get a rice-like consistency.

4. Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan, and throw in the lime zest with the ginger and coriander. Stir for 30 seconds, then add the cauliflower, 3 tablespoons water and the juice of the lime. Cook for 5 minutes, until cooked through.

5. Scatter the cilantro leaves over the curry with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, and serve with the ‘rice’.

Recipe We Love: Chia Breakfast Bowl

Stay tuned for a new recipe we love each week to celebrate Meatless Monday. 

If you like a thicker bowl add more chia seeds, if you like a thinner consistency go for less. Or if you've never tried them before, start with 1 tablespoon and work up if you like. Also, I used a (toasted) almond-coconut milk blend here, but any favorite nut milk will do. I sweetened mine with coconut nectar (love), but if you can use a bit of whatever natural sweetener you keep on hand.

Ingredients:

1-3 tablespoons chia seeds
2/3 cup almond-coconut milk (or other nut milk)
inch of good salt
coconut nectar, maple syrup, stevia, or honey, to taste
top with: toasted coconut flakes, seasonal fruit (I used passion fruit & blackberries), something with a bit of crunch (I used pumpkin seeds) - walnuts, sunflower seeds, granola, etc. 

Combine the chia seeds with the almond milk and stir well. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the chia seeds completely bloom and soften. You can also do this step a night ahead, but I like the flavor better when the chia isn't allowed to sit for that long. Just before serving, sweeten to taste with preferred sweetener, and then top with toasted coconut flakes, crushed seasonal fruit, and anything else you like.

Makes one bowl. Double or triple the recipe based on the number of people you are serving.

By 101 Cookbooks

Recipe We Love: Basmati Stuffed Grilled Peppers

Stay tuned for a new recipe we love each week to celebrate Meatless Monday. 

FOR THE FILLING:

1 ½ cups brown basmati or other long grain brown rice

1 large tomato

1 large carrot

1 zucchini

½ large onion, yellow or white

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 ¼ teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (if the store doesn’t have this then just leave it out. It’s not a fucking deal breaker)

2 cups water

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (red wine vinegar would work too)

3-4 cloves of garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE BEANS:

1 ½ cups white beans or 1- 15 ounce can (You can use navy, cannellini, whatever kind of creamy bean you got)

2 tablespoons of chopped onion

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (or whatever vinegar you’ve already used)

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ teaspoon oregano dried

4 large bell peppers

Fresh basil (optional)

Put the rice in a strainer and rinse that shit. Throw the tomato in a food processor and puree it into juice. You should get about a cup. You could also just use tomato juice here if you have that at your place already. Chop up the onion, carrot, and zucchini into pieces about the size of a dime. Take 2 tablespoons of the chopped onion and put it aside. You will use that shit in a minute. In a big pot heat the olive oil up over a medium heat. Add the big portion of onion and let it cook until it starts brown, like 5 minutes. Add the carrot, zucchini, oregano, thyme, and paprika. Cook for about 1 minute. Add the rice, pureed tomato, and water. Throw in a pinch of salt and bring it all to a boil. Once it is boiling, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low so that shit simmers. Let it go for like 30-40 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked all the way.

While the rice cooks throw the beans, 2 tablespoons of onion from earlier, olive oil, vinegar, and oregano in the dirty food processor and run it until everything looks smooth. It’s cool if there still are some tomato bits in there. Add a little pepper and stir it in. When the rice is done, add the garlic, sherry vinegar, and lemon juice to it. Cover and let that sit for a minute. Taste the rice and add salt, pepper, or more seasoning until that shit tastes good enough to meet your standards.

Chop the bell peppers in half lengthwise and scrape out all the seeds. They aren’t hot and taste bitter so throw them away. Add a couple spoonfuls of the bean mixture inside each pepper and spread that shit around. Add spoonfuls of the rice until it is all nice and packed in. I got about half a cup of rice in each one of mine.

Heat up your grill to a medium-low heat. Spray it down with a little oil so that the peppers don’t stick. Spray the tops of each pepper lightly with oil too so they don’t dry out. Grill the stuffed peppers for about 10-12 minutes. You want the peppers to start to soften and get some good looking grill marks on them. Top with fresh basil and serve warm.

Makes 8 stuffed peppers

 BY THUG KITCHEN

What Is Cold-Pressed?

There isn't a day that's gone by since SW opened shop that we haven't heard "So what exactly is cold-pressed juice?" We love that. Knowing people are interested in being informed on the different types of juice out there is exciting. 

Cold-pressed juice uses a hydraulic method of extracting nutrients from everyones favourite fruits and vegetables in a way that does not denature the enzymes. When using a masticating or centrifugal juicer, the fast paced spinning motion of the blades heats the enzymes up and therefore causes them to begin to deteriorate at a much quicker rate. Cold-pressed juice lasts at its peak potential for approximately 3 days, while other juice extraction methods tend to last a mere few hours. 

Another great advantage of a cold-pressed juicer is the limiting waste. The hydraulic press squeezes all the liquid out of the plant leaving minimal waste that can be easily re-used. This also leaves the consistency of a cold-pressed juice thinner and more potent than a centrifugal or masticating juicer. You can literally taste the difference between the extraction methods. 


5 Tips On How To Eat-Out, Vegan Style.

There are so many common reactions when people hear that you lead a plant-based lifestyle:

"That must be so hard!" "Where do you get your protein?" "What do you even eat?" "So do you just never go out for dinner?" "So you only eat salads?" "What about chicken? Or fish?" "But you must eat cheese, everyone loves cheese."

The biggest concern comes into play while planning a dinner with friends, they are always so concerned (like the adorably sweet people they are) about where you are able to eat. In my experience, anywhere you go will generally have a great vegan off-menu option for you! 

Here are some tips to ensure you can eat-out anywhere:

  1. Be Understanding & Kind: My experience in the food-industry has taught me many valuable lessons, the most important of which to be nice. No server is excited to deal with an incredibly picky-person at their table and for the most part many people don't fully understand the limitations of a plant-based lifestyle. The best way to get what you want while out to eat (or just in general) is having a understanding, genuine attitude. Yes. Be understanding of your server, don't just expect they will be understanding of you. 
  2. Speak Up: Don't be afraid to talk to your server and ask them if off-menu items/modifications are possible.
  3. Be creative: One of my favourite parts about being plant-based and eating out is that I get to explore my creative side. It basically works like this:
    • Breakfast: Scan the menu. What do they have to offer? Instead of looking at each item, look at their individual ingredients. Most breakfast serving restaurants have eggs florentine which is composed of a poached eggs, other things we aren't interested in & asparagus! Asparagus. Perfect. Moving on. Another key place to look is the side dishes. There is most likely a hash brown situation going on there (hopefully you're at a restaurant that serves onions in their hash browns). Ask your server if they have red peppers, or any other veg you are interested in & order them all together to make your own veggie-hash. Delicious!  
    • Lunch/Dinner: Same situation - menu scan. Find a base in an entry that interests you: rice, quinoa, pasta, potatoes, whatever you're into. Look for some yummy veg. Is there a plant-based protein to complete your meal? Order them all as sides, or ask your waitress to tell the chef to surprise you with these ingredients. Chef's often love to get creative and I have had some delicious off-menu meals based on these concepts.
  4. Avoid soups: one very iffy item on every menu is a soup. Most places out-source their soups or soup bases and don't always know the ingredients. I have run into a few situations where I have asked the server and you can tell they are guessing. I don't like to take the chance. Unless it is a home-made soup that the restaurant can guarantee, most likely it is made with some form of animal by-product or meat-based broth.  
  5. Try ethnic: Western based restaurants are normally the most limiting. 

More Tips? Leave them in the comments!

 

 

Why Glass Bottles?

People are constantly commenting on our use of glass bottles. They don't understand why we sacrifice the extra profit for the expense of a glass bottle. 

What many don't consider is how harmful plastic is to the environment. Our decision to use glass bottles was a conscious one; we saw an opportunity to do our part in raising awareness on this issue and to try and make a change. There are so many ways to reduce waste, this one of ours.

Join us on our journey towards waste reduction and sustainability by taking part in our bottle return program! For every 8 bottles you return, you get a free 250mL fruit based juice free!

For more information on waste reduction or how to become more sustainable in your life contact Sustainable Kingston.