raw vegan phở with hoisin sauce, broccoli, mushrooms, basil & sprouts

I promised you this recipe awhile ago, and now I am delivering. I got the idea to make raw phở a couple weeks ago and couldn't get the thought out of my mind. I mean, we all love phở right? But personally I am not too crazy about the high salt content and rice noodles. The fresh broccoli, warm, gingery broth, crunchy sprouts and aromatic basil, though? COUNT ME IN. 

This recipe has all the positives and none of the processed. Oh! Some other advantages? It's super cheap to make, and low-fat! (I know those factors are important to a lot of you.) It's basically no fat if you choose not to make the hoisin sauce but c'mon now - it's raw. vegan. hoisin. sauce. I want to literally bathe in this recipe. 

I couldn't have been happier with the flavour of the broth. I was a bit skeptical I could make it taste as great as the original but it honestly tastes BETTER. No kidding. You get the real, unrefined flavour of onion, garlic, ginger, coriander and cinnamon, with none of the excess salt. You can choose to warm it slightly with your broccoli and mushrooms on the stove like I did (this also steams the veggies a little bit which I love) or you can leave everything totally raw and enjoy it at room temperature. 

I basically inhaled two bowls of this; it was like a phở frenzy. I was so full I left the last bowl to my mom. I still have the taste of the dish in my mouth and I am now craving more... dang. Make this anytime you wanna warm up and ward off colds. The ingredients are all anti-cancer super foods that will keep you living long and smiling big. What's not to love?

raw vegan phở with hoisin sauce, broccoli, mushrooms, basil & sprouts

serves: 1-2

noodles:

1 large zucchini sliced into noodles on a mandolin, spiral slicer or cheese grater

broth:

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon chunk of peeled ginger

Dash of cinnamon and coriander, to taste

3 cups hot water

1 tablespoon miso (any kind will work) 

1 peeled garlic clove

hoisin sauce:

1 tablespoon tamari

1 tablespoon maple syrup (or other preferred sweetener)

2 tablespoons almond butter

1 tablespoon coconut vinegar

1 peeled garlic clove

Toppings:

1 head of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces 

1/4 cup basil leaves

1/2 cup mung bean sprouts

3-4 sliced white mushrooms

To make the broth: blend all the ingredients until smooth. Strain if you want, and mix in your broccoli and mushrooms. You can either warm this mixture up on the stove (and simultaneously lightly steam the veggies) or leave as-is. I just love steamed broccoli and warm broth. Pour this over your noodles in one or two bowls and top off with sprouts and basil leaves. 

To make the sauce: blend all the ingredients until smooth. If it's too thick, add some water. Pour over your phở bowl(s) and DIG IN WITH CHOPSTICKS. 

curry with tofu & grilled vegetables

this curry is delish! mom wasn't here for dinner so it was my turn to make something. brown rice had been cooking and i figured some spicy curry with broccoli, leftover grilled veggies and tofu would hit the spot; since it has been raining all day here.

everyone said it was really great, in fact - jasper used the word "addictive". can't argue with that. we all took seconds. i'm glad it was so tasty because i didn't use any conventional curry recipe. i didn't even have curry paste. so if you're in the mood for warming curry, crispy tofu, tender veggies and rice; try out this funky recipe!

yellow curry with tofu, veggies & rice: makes a big ole pot

1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1 head broccoli
1 grilled red pepper
2 grilled zucchinis
2 packages tofu
1 can coconut milk
6 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons raw sugar (or other sweetener)
3 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon each of coriander, paprika, cumin, turmeric, garlic, and onion powder
1 teaspoon each cinnamon, chili flakes, and dill
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

prepare the tofu: sautee it on med-high heat with a bit of olive oil, rice wine vinegar and tamari (soy sauce) until it browns. set aside.

chop all the veggies. in a large pot, sautee the onions, garlic and all the spices together with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar until they're translucent and softened. add the remaining ingredients, including the tofu and veggies. let simmer on low heat for 30 minutes or so, until the broccoli is cooked enough for you. see you if you like it! curry is easy to change.

serve with whole grain brown rice in bowls with chives, hot sauce, sweet basil, and gypsy kings. yeah man!

oh and i have some news: I GOT TWITTER! it's mainly to get my blog out there more (by "there", i mean the world wide web). so follow me, please! it's so weird that i have a blog and a twitter account now. i feel like such a participating member of my generation, a feeling that is rare for me. i'm a bit of an enigma... if you haven't noticed.

holy three cheese pizza

my girl friend and i decided it should be illegal, or it's distribution at least regulated; for this pizza is dangerous.

these pictures aren't that great. sorry. we were not concerned with photography at this point - only devouring this work of cruelty- and dairy-free art. i could seriously have eaten the entire pizza, but we were civil and split it halfway.

the recipe is gonna be a little tricky to recreate because i used a bunch of leftovers, but if i give you a general outline you should be able to do it. trust in yourself. all it takes is some vegan cheese, veggies and love...

then again, doesn't everything? 

if you use a gluten free crust and only daiya cheese - this is soy-free, gluten-free and obviously dairy-free. hurray! if you wanna leave out the cheese and keep it totally whole foods, it'll still be delicious.

three cheese pizza with grilled veggies, black rice, and sweet & sour mustard sauce: 

pizza crust:
buy one pre-made (easy to be gluten free) OR use this gluten free recipe, OR:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 to 1 cup warm water
1 packet yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt & pepper
dried herbs of your choosing (i like basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme)

sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil (or use pine nuts and water)
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
2 tablespoons mustard
a few drops of liquid smoke
handful fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
2-5 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons honey/agave 
water as needed

toppings:
2 grilled bell peppers
grilled eggplant slices
1 cup cooked black rice mix (like we used leftovers from a stir-fry)
handful basil leaves
1/3 cup shredded soya cheddar cheese (or use shredded daiya cheddar cheese)
1/3 daiya mozzarella shredded cheese
pepper and/or fave dried herb mixes
fave hot sauce
parma cheese!

make the crust: combine the yeast and warm water in a warm mixing bowl. sprinkle on a tinsy bit of sugar to feed the yeast. let it rise for about 10 minutes. add the other ingredients and kneed the dough or mix in your mixer (we have a kitchen-aid) until it's soft and elastic; 8-10 minutes. let it rise for an hour or until it doubles in size. then roll it out into a pizza crust! partially bake it for 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees.

to make the sauce: blend all ingredients until smooth. duh. if it's too thick, add more water. spread onto your par-baked pizza crust. theeeeennn... load on the toppings, with the cheese last, sealing in all the goodness. leave the pepper, hot sauce and parma off until it's out of the oven. bake for 8 minutes at 425 or until it looks done. slice it up and ENJOY the heck out of it.