Tag Archives: vegan

Greek Salad Bowl with Tempeh

With summer on it’s way and plenty of seasonal veggies available, salads become more than just a green side dish. A complete meal that is nutritious and delicious, a colorful, bountiful platter full of goodness. This Greek salad bowl with Tempeh is a complete meal, with fresh grilled veggies, quinoa, feta, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, tempeh and more. And an amazing Lemony garlic Dressing with lots of fresh herbs to drizzle over the top. Basically a Greek Super Salad.

We eat this Salad for lunch or dinner as a complete meal since It’s really filling and delicious. You can serve this Greek Salad with some grilled Pita bread or even French bread. It also keeps quite well for a few hours, so you can put it in a Tupperware and take it along on a Picknick.
There’s a little prep involved but not more that you would usually have for dinner. This is after all a complete meal. Perfect for Spring and Summer.

Prep time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 30 minutes
Serves : 4

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1 eggplant, cut into cubes
• 2 red peppers, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried thyme or a few sprig of fresh thyme
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup cubed cooked (left-over) Tempeh*
• Salad leafs of all kinds and as much as you want
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, yellow and red
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and cubed
• 2 red onions, peeled and sliced*
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata black olives
• 4 ounces Greek Feta cheese torn into pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs like parsley, chives, basil
LEMON FOR SERVING
• Soak the red onions in lemon juice for about 15 minutes so they loose their sharpness if you prefer.

DRESSING:

1 juice of one Lemon
1 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. honey
1/2 cup (Greek) extra virgin Olive oil,
1 small Garlic clove minced or grated
1 tbsp. fresh Basil, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh Dill, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh Parsley
1/2 tsp. Onion powder
1 tsp. Oregano, dried
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*If you don’t like tempeh sub for canned tuna or cooked chicken or even hard boiled eggs.

DIRECTIONS:
To make the Dressing, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, honey and mustard. Whisk in the olive oil. Add the remaining seasoning and garlic. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary, set aside.
Preheat oven to 220° C/425° F.
Cook Quinoa according to package instructions; set aside.
Place eggplant and pepper in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil and thyme, season with salt and pepper. Gently toss to combine.
Place into oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until tender. Give it a stir around once during cooking.
Place a bed of lettuce leafs in each bowl.
Divide the quinoa over each bowl, Top with eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, olives, your choice of protein (tempeh, tuna, chicken). Place the Feta in the middle of the salad and top with some more red onion.
Sprinkle with fresh herbs and lemon wedges. Pour over the dressing and serve immediately. If you want to take the salad with you, put the dressing in a jar and pour over just before serving.
ENJOY!

Greek Bbq Tempeh Gyros with shoestring sweet potato oven fries

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Μπουκιά και συγχώριο(Boukia kai syghorio)

“One bite and all is forgiven.”

Greek style Bbq Tempeh Gyros with shoestring sweet potato oven fries.
This recipe is Greek inspired, the basics are there but I’ve added my own Bbq-flavour twist to it.
Since I’m looking for new ways to enjoy delicious, nutritionally balanced plant-based meals, I make my favourite recipes and simply replace meat with Tempeh. So I was Wondering if I could pull of a tempeh Gyros that would be as a good as the real deal. Well I’m glad to report, yes I can and so can you!
The Gyros texture and flavor were spot on! And without an actual Bbq.

Tempeh is such a good meat substitute, not only is it high in protein but the texture is also very similar to meat and easily adaptable to many flavors and seasonings. Especially when marinated. In my opinion it is what resembles meat the most.
If you have the time, make the marinade a day in advance so it really penetrates the tempeh.

PREP TIME : 10 MINUTES
COOKING TIME : 10 MINUTES
SERVES : 4
________________________________________
INGREDIENTS:
• 8 oz tempeh
• 1 ½ tsp. fresh crushed garlic
• 2 tsp. Greek oregano
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• juice of one small lemon
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce (not Greek but so good)
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 C. plain tomato sauce
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke (Bbq flavour)
• a pinch of cinnamon
• a pinch of ground clove (optional)
• 1/2 tsp dried crushed chili flakes
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
To serve:
Pita bread
lettuce
chopped cucumber
2 fresh tomatoes sliced
½ red onion thinly sliced
Tzatziki or Greek Yoghurt to serve
sweet potato oven fries with Greek oregano (see recipe)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make marinade by mixing the ingredients in a deep dish.
Cut tempeh block in half. Bring a pot of water to a boil, place tempeh halves inside and boil gently for 5 minutes. This removes any bitter taste from the tempeh.
Take tempeh out of the water, and after it has cooled slice it into ¼ inch slices or strips.
Place slices in the marinade.Marinate overnight or at least a couple of hours.
Make the shoe-string sweet potato fries.
Pre heat oven to 200 C / 400 F
Take two large sweet potatoes and peel them.
Cut into thin shoestrings. Dry well on kitchen paper.
Place in a bowl, toss in a two teaspoons of olive oil and add salt, pepper, sweet
paprika and oregano tot taste.Toss to coat.
Line an oven tray with parchment paper and spread out the fries and place in the middle of the oven.
Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes until golden and crispy, depending on the thickness of the fries.
Preheat a large griddle pan over high heat. Brush with a tablespoon of olive oil. Remove tempeh slices from the marinade and place in the pan.
Grill for 7 – 10 minutes or until golden brown and beginning to crisp.
Meanwhile warm the pita bread in the oven for 3-5 minutes, wrap them in aluminium foil (move the fries to one side and lay the pita bread next to them).
Assemble Gyros by placing tempeh slices, fresh tomatoes, and red onions on pita bread. Cover with Tzatziki or yoghurt and top with a handful of the crispy shoe-string sweet potato fries.

Enjoy!

If you make the Greek Bbq Tempeh Gyros, be sure to leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you and if you love it, pin it. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! @thecookingspoonblog or hashtag it #thecookingspoonblog

Coconut curried Lentil Soup

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A hearty feel-good soup

A comforting and warming soup that is super healthy and very delicious. Packed with iron, vitamins and minerals, low in fat, high in fibre and perfect for during the hectic Holiday season.
The great thing is that Lentils cook relatively quick, all in one pot, so you could have dinner on the table in about half an hour. Finish the soup off with a little drizzle of coconut cream and you have yourself a fantastic budget friendly nutritious dinner that also happens to be suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

I can’t think of a better sidekick than my homemade Spelt bread to go with it to dunk into the soup. So good.

Prep time : 10 minutes
Cooking time 40 minutes
Serves : 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp. olive oil or coconut oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
4 celery stalks, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 leeks, sliced
2 cups of roughly chopped kale
2 cans of coconut milk, reserve a ¼ cup for serving
2 cans of vegetable stock
4 tbsp. madras curry paste
2 cups / 400 gr. dried brown lentils
A good squeeze of lemon juice
A handful of coriander, chopped
Lemon wedges to serve
salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

Take a large pot and heat on medium high, add the oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Add the celery, carrots and leeks and cook for a few more minutes. Now add the curry paste and cook for a minute to release the flavor. Add the kale and the stock, coconut milk (reserve ¼ cup) and lentils. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until lentils have softened. Taste and correct seasoning with salt and pepper. You can cook the lentils a little longer if you want your soup to thicken or you could blend a bit with an immersion blender.
Add the squeeze of lemon juice and add almost all the coriander, reserving some to decorate when serving.
Serve piping hot, garnished with coriander, coconut cream and lemon wedges and plenty of fresh bread.

Enjoy!

If you make this Lentil soup be sure to leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you and if you love it, pin it. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! @thecookingspoonblog or hashtag it #thecookingspoonblog

Vegan Magnum Ice Cream Bars

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This is my healthy take on the decadent Magnum Ice Cream pops. So good and so easy, and a lot healthier than the original, using a cashew and coconut base for the ice cream, date caramel, and a raw cacao shell.

Prep time : 20 minutes plus freezing
Makes : 6

INGREDIENTS ICE CREAM:

1 ¼ cup cashew nuts, raw and soaked preferably overnight, or at least four hours
1 cup full fat coconut milk *
3 tbsp. Light Agave syrup **
1 tsp. vanilla extract

INGREDIENTS CARAMEL LAYER:

1 cups pitted Medjool Dates, soaked for 1 hour
2 tbsp. almond butter
¾ – 1 cup unsweetened Almond Milk ***
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. Himalayan Salt

INGREDIENTS CHOCOLATE LAYER:

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled back to room temperature
1/3 cup maple syrup or more Agave syrup
1/3 cup (raw) cacao
½ tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

Drain the nuts thoroughly, mix all the ingredients for the ice cream in a high speed blender until very smooth. You can add a little more coconut milk if it is too thick.
Pour into ice cream molds and add a wooden stick, freeze for at least 4-5 hours.

Mix the ingredients for the caramel in the high speed blender and blend until you have a thick past. Prepare a tray and cover with cling film or parchment paper.
Remove the ice cream bars from the molds and place them carefully on the lined tray.
With a butter knife or small spatula spread a tablespoon of caramel paste on one side of the ice cream bars and place back on the tray. Keep them in the freezer until you have done each one.
Freeze for an hour and then repeat with the other side.

Make the chocolate;

melt the coconut oil and whisk together with the sweetener, vanilla and cacao. Put the chocolate dip in a mug or other deep glass so you can dip the ice cream pops into the chocolate

Take out the ice cream bars and dip them in chocolate until all covered and lay down on a baking sheet. I also used a spoon to pour the chocolate over the ice cream bars. Sprinkle with some chopped nuts if you like. The chocolate will set immediately so work quickly. Keep them in the freezer, well wrapped.

Enjoy!

Myra XO

*NOTE 1 : do not shake the can of coconut milk before opening and try to scoop out as much of the coconut fat as you can to use for the ice cream, fill up the remainder of the measure with the coconut water.
** NOTE 2: Use more Agave syrup if you like it really sweet.
*** NOTE 3: start with using just ¾ cup of almond milk and look at the consistency. It should be a smooth paste. The more liquid you add, the harder the caramel will freeze. You want the caramel layer gooey.