I absolutely adore the combination of Cuban Black Beans with Rice and Chimichurri.  It's a meal I've been making for years. It's super healthy, packs a flavour punch and is super easy to prepare.....not to mention easy on the wallet. ​It's also somehow just really satisfying food. I feel like I'm treating myself when I eat this meal. The only thing to add, really, is a mojito or two. 

The picture on the left is a Cuban inspired Buddha bowl. It was epic. I accompanied my black beans with: 

• brown rice
• roasted sweet potato
• sliced avocado
• sauteed shredded green cabbage
• red onion
• fresh cherry tomatoes
• chimichurri (recipe below)
• lime wedges
• cilantro

In the picture on the right, I accompanied the beans, brown rice & chimichurri with pan fried plantains. A side dish that I've coveted for many years. It is super simple and it tastes amazing. You'll need 2 plantains, 1/4 of a red pepper, and 2 scallions.
​Simply:

• heat vegan butter and vegetable oil over medium heat in a pan and cook plantain slices on each side until browned. Season with S & P.
• Garnish with thin slices of red pepper and green onion. 
• Serve it along side beans, rice & chimichurri with lime wedges and cilantro. 

​Ingredients:
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• 2 cups (1lb) dried black beans, soaked overnight
• 1 large sweet onion, small dice
• 1 green pepper, small dice
• 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp chile flakes
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• A few glugs of olive oil
• S&P
• Pinch of raw sugar

Method:
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1. Saute green pepper, onion & garlic in a bit of veg oil until softened. Season with S & P
2. Add garlic, oregano, cumin, & chile flakes. Cook another couple minutes. 
3. Add black beans (that have been soaked overnight and drained), 5 cups of water, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer.
4. Simmer until beans are softened. You want the liquid to reduce while the beans are cooking. If you need to add more water because the beans need to cook longer and too much has evaporated, do that. 
5. Towards the end I add in a few glugs of olive oil the red wine vinegar & pinch of sugar. I like to let it hang out on the stove for a bit then I come back to it to adjust the seasonings. Salt & Pepper but also : If you want heavier cumin add more of that                                                                                 If you want it sweeter, you can do that too,                                                                                  If you need to spice it up, sriracha or sambal oelek works

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Ingredients: 
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• 1.5 cups cilantro (leaves and stems, packed)
• 1.5 cups parsley (leaves and stems, packed)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup veg oil (I used sunflower)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• sprinkle of chile flakes
• S & P

Method:

1. Blitz everything in a food processor except for the chile flakes (or also leave out the olive oil, then stir the olive oil in by hand after everything else is chopped up. 
2. Adjust seasoning to your taste. You can also stir in more oil /vinegar if you want your chimichurri to be thinner. Sometimes I want it that way. This version is on the thicker side. Both serve their purpose. 

I had some wonton wrappers kicking around so I decided to make these crispy bundles of awesomeness. AKA pan fried dumplings. Whilst reading about traditional chinese pan fried dumplings I learned that a common cooking method is to brown them on one side in your pan then flip them over and toss in a bit of water, cover and steam on the second side to finish cooking. I didn't do that. Maybe next time but maybe not because I kinda love these crispy all over wontons stuffed with seasoned tofu, shrooms and veg. Then dipped in all the sweet chili sauce. Probably not the healthiest situation but sometimes I want vegan treats.

Yield: Enough filling for about 40 dumplings (I used wonton wrappers)

Filling Ingredients:
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• Veg Oil (for sauteeing)
• 1 block firm tofu, pressed
• 1/2 cup dried mixed mushrooms, re hydrated and chopped ( will yield about 1/3 cup chopped)
• 1 cup shredded green cabbage
• 1/2 cup chopped radish
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh Ginger
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8th tsp chili flakes
• 5 scallions (about 3/4 cup chopped)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Method:
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1. Preheat your pan and a couple swirls of veg oil.
2. Sautee crumbled tofu (I just use my hands and crumble it into the pan), mushrooms & cabbage for a few minutes. I seasoned with a couple pinches of salt
3. Add radish, ginger, garlic, scallions & chili flakes and cook a little more. (I cooked mine until mostly softened, the cabbage still had a bit of texture.)
4. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and cilantro. Stir it around for another minute or so, taste to adjust any seasoning to your liking then cool mixture before filling your dumplings.

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1. Lay out thawed wonton wrappers.
2. Spoon about a tbsp of the mixture in the centre of each square
3. Dip your finger in water and moisten all four edges
4. Fold two opposite points together to make a triangle pouch. Seal tightly by pinching along the edges
5. Now fold the opposing points together and pinch to seal. It's almost like the dumpling is giving itself a hug!!!
6. To cook,  simply heat some vegetable oil in a pan and fry on all sides until golden brown. About 2-3 minutes per side. 
7. Garnish with sliced scallion and serve sweet chili sauce on the side

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 3 T shaoxing cooking wine
• 2 tbsp sambal oelek
• 2 tbsp cornstarch + couple splashes water

Method:

1. Add everything to a pot except cornstarch slurry. 
   
2. Bring to a boil, then add your cornstarch mixed with a bit of water to the pot to thicken.
3. Cool & refrigerate before serving.
   

Didn't reinvent the wheel with this one.....but I have had it 5 days in a row for breakfast this week so clearly it needed to be documented. I topped it with all the nuts and seeds. So far I enjoy it most with toasted almonds, sunflower seeds and chia seeds! But this version with pistachio and pumpkin seeds was great too. Happy Breakfast!!

Ingredients: 

• 1 small frozen banana, cut in chunks
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 scoop Vega Vanilla Protein Powder (or a full scoop)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Method:

1. Just blend it together with an immersion blender, get it in a bowl, top it with whatever you fancy.

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A super easy & delicious vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe because life is better with cookies. (and chocolate) These are bursting with chocolate chips, made with 100% whole wheat flour, and the tops are sprinkled with pink Himalayan sea salt after baking (because salty & sweet is the best). I had success making these gluten free by using 50% quinoa flour and
50% rice flour if that's your thing. Didn't even take the mixer out for this recipe. I divided the dough to make 12 cookies, or enough to fill one sheet pan. These almost taste like a "healthy" cookie probably due to the whole wheat flour. They taste best after they have completely cooled. I even like them straight out of the freezer! Don't skip the sea salt on top!

Yield: 8-12 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup organic brown sugar
• 6 tbsp coconut oil
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 5 tbsp almond or soy milk
• 1/5 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp vegan chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl (except for chocolate chips) and wet ingredients in another bowl                                                                                                                                 ** (not gonna lie, I made these in one bowl & just added wet ingredients on top and combined. I know that this breaks all of the baking rules for even distribution of ingredients etc but my cookies were delicious so.. I win....)
3. Add wet to dry stir to combine a bit, then add your chocolate chips. I used my hands to bring the cookie dough together and mix in the chips. 
4. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, roll dough into balls (Mine were about golf ball size) then flatten them on the baking sheet before you bake them.
5. Bake for about 16 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt out of the oven. (These are best after they have had time to cool completely)

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