Tag Archives: tomato

Refreshing Watermelon Tomato Salad

The weather earlier this week was insane! You want to talk about a scorcher?  I thought that I was back working Coachella! Thank goodness I could jump in a pool to cool off. ;) I wish that I had this salad to cool me down from the inside out, though.

I was inspired by a salad that I had years ago, with watermelon, tomato, mint, and feta, plus some vegetarian roe for a salty kick. This one is slightly different, with creamy pine nuts changing up the texture, and a combination of mint and basil to make it interesting (and pretty!).

The best part about this salad is that it comes together in mere minutes. If you chill the tomato and watermelon before assembly it works out even better. This is the perfect side for a summer party, BBQ or as a light snack. Throw a little white balsamic vinegar on there and call it a day!

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Filed under Healthy Recipes, Holidays, Raw Recipes, Sweet Recipes

Warm Smoky Tempeh Salad

As some of you may know, I spend the past weekend (plus a couple of days) in San Francisco. If you’ve been there before, you can imagine how excited I was about trying out some more vegan restaurants and delightful food! Not to mention, the whole point of my trip was to visit some amazing friends and check out the scenery. There were many firsts during this trip, one of them being that it was my first time flying there and boy, do I love 1 hour flights!

Once I got there, my lovely friend Caroline picked me up and we jogged a couple of miles in preparation for the weekend of crazy feasting! I just have to say, as reluctant as I was to jog before breakfast, it sure set the tone for the weekend. So, thanks again, Caroline! We went to Source for brunch, to visit the always awesome Jenny (who’s the pastry chef there) and left feeling slightly food drunk. The rest of the weekend included trips (including but not limited) to Souley Vegan, Pepple’s Donut Farm, Gracias Madre and St. Francis Fountain.

As you can tell, it wasn’t the healthiest of times, but I did squeeze in a recipe while I was there! After one of our morning runs, Caroline and I decided to make some lunch at home. We wanted something healthy, but substantial, that would fit the cool but beautiful weather. First, we thought salad, then it kept evolving with different ingredients and methods, until finally we settled on a wilted, warm salad. It’s essentially between a saute and a fresh salad, perfect!

Here, you have your protein-packed tempeh, some caramelized onions, crunchy romaine, and don’t forget about those adorable baby bellas! This recipe is very simple, and comes together in no time. It was really my first time experimenting with wilted lettuce, for myself, but I’ll definitely be doing it again. :)

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Filed under Healthy Recipes, Savory Recipes

Tomato Spinach Grilled Cheese Bread Bowl

It has been raining, well sprinkling really, all day today and the weather is nice and cool. No gusty winds or downpours, just enough rain drops to cover everything in a thin layer of water. It’s days like today that remind me of when I was in grade school; whenever it rained, it always meant that it was time for grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. Now, whenever it rains, I feel that I am obligated to make some version of this, like a grilled cheese sandwich made with focaccia dipped in tomato basil soup.

Today was a day to do things a little differently, though. I’ve had some bread bowl loaves hanging out in my freezer, and I was just waiting for the perfect recipe to use them. What I thought of was an amalgamation of things that I love! One being tomato soup (with spinach in this case), another being sourdough bread bowls, and lastly, some cheddar shreds. All of the ingredients came together beautifully, with the browned bread bowl with its flavorful soupy filling and cheesy topping; it is definitely the epitome of comfort food.

Of course, the only problem with tomato soup when it’s nearly December is that tomatoes are not in season (but, don’t tell my tomato plant that), so I have resorted to using canned sauces and tomatoes. Which I have to say, feels a lot like cheating considering that I’m used to roasting tomatoes and making soup from scratch. But, this makes it a super easy recipe to make, that your family can enjoy in no time.

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Filed under Holidays, Savory Recipes

Labor Day Eats: Sloppy Joes!

First off, I hope that everyone had a great Labor Day weekend filled with great food and even better company. I saw a lot of family this weekend, some that I haven’t seen since my Grandmother’s passing in May; so that was really nice. But, whenever family is over for a holiday that is centered around food, I’m always in the kitchen trying to make some space to make food that is suitable for me. Sometimes this is a little hard when you are surrounded by racks of ribs, chili dips, hamburgers and hot dogs. :/ What is funny, is that everyone is always interested in what I’m making for myself; asking me what kind of dish I’ll be making this time, what’s in it, etc.

I love it when I get others (non-vegans, mostly) interested in trying new things, or at least learning more about them. The recipe I made this past weekend was inspired by an accident of sorts. I have a guest post in the works for Vegan Miam, and had some extra ingredients left over from the end result. It turns out that if you mix lentils and tomato sauce together, it ends up being a delicious combo. But, it didn’t stop there; I knew that I’d want to elaborate on the mixture and make it into an awesome Sloppy Joe recipe.

Last year, I tried my hand at making homemade burger buns, and although they turned out okay I thought I’d change them up a bit and use them to cradle my sloppy joe mix. Well, it turns out that I forgot to add salt and I may have not let them rise enough because they ended up pretty dense. So, unfortunately, I will not be posting up my modified recipe; but, this sloppy joe mix… Is so damn good. After I was done seasoning it, my cousin tried some and then proceeded to force almost everyone else at my house to try it as well. One of my older cousins who just had heart surgery even said, “Wait, you’re sure there’s no meat in here? This is good!” I’ll take it! ;)

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Filed under Healthy Recipes, Savory Recipes