vegetarian – Page 10 – GUTSy Performance Nutrition

Summer’s End Tomato Crumble

August 28, 2019by Rebecca1 Comment

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Every summer around this time, I make a version of this crumble. So much so that I can’t help but get to late-August and start to crave it when I’m inundated with too many tomatoes.

Also every year, we go to the coast for a family reunion over Labor Day weekend. When we get back and September has arrived, the light begins to change dramatically and the fall colors soon set in. So this is the last week of true summer.

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And thus it’s a proper time to make a savory dinner crumble, filled up with the season’s best tomatoes and enjoyed on one of these still-long, slow evenings.

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Summer’s End Tomato Crumble, serves 4-5
I love to add just a bit of non-dairy cheese to the crumble topping. I think it adds a nice flavor complexity that the otherwise simple ingredients need. Also, I’ve made this so many times and it’s quick and easy to get in the oven, but sometimes corners are cut and I can tell in the result. For instance, fresh herbs really make the seasoning. Use oregano, thyme, or even rosemary, minced quite fine. Add arrowroot flour to the tomato and bean filling if using large slicing tomatoes, but feel free to skip if using smaller cherry varieties. The flour will thicken it up when the tomatoes are extra juicy.

1 1/2 pounds / 700 g ripe tomatoes
1 tsp coarse sea salt
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups cooked white beans such as flageolet or small lima beans
1/4 cup arrowroot flour (optional, see notes)

1 1/2 cups / 140 g rolled oats, gluten-free as necessary
6 tbsp almond flour
1/2 cup / 25 g grated vegan parmesan or cheddar cheese (I prefer Vtopian aged cheddar)
4 sprigs fresh oregano or thyme, leaves picked and chopped
1 pinch sea salt
1/4 cup / 55 g coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
Rinse the tomatoes and cut in halves if using cherries, or dice if using large slicers. Place in a 9-inch pie pan or baking dish and toss with sea salt, apple cider vinegar white beans, and arrowroot flour if using.
Prepare the crumble in a separate bowl. Start by thoroughly mixing oats, almond flour, grated cheese, oregano and salt. Add the coconut oil in small pieces. Use your hands to mix until large crumbs begin to form. Pour the crumble filling evenly over the tomatoes. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the tomato juices are bubbling around the edges and the crumble is firm and browned.

Journal, Summertime

Mushroom and Black Bean Enchiladas

July 31, 2019by Rebecca4 Comments

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Have you ever had days or weeks or seasons where you’re putting a lot of effort in and not seeing much results? And then when you stop trying or put your focus just a little to another direction and stop caring so damn much, the results show up in their own way and on their own timing?

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I think this is simply God or the universe’s way of telling us to trust and go with the flow a bit more. There’s a Chinese proverb that states, “Don’t push the river, it flows by itself.” I love this one. It generally seems to apply, always.

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This is all to say, I had a very different blog post and recipe planned for this week but after many drafts and recipe variations, I’ve accepted it simply wasn’t ready to come out. On the other hand, I wrote down mushroom and black bean enchiladas in my blog ideas journal recently and with putting hardly any effort in at all, this recipe worked itself out in my head and then in the kitchen, and it came out so completely to perfection in one easy go that it became clear this is the recipe and message to be shared this week instead.

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So if enchiladas with mushrooms and black beans, zucchini and a coconut, cilantro and lime drizzle sound delicious, go make them. They’re tasty. And if not, go ahead and think about applying that proverb to whatever you need to. Or join me and do both.

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Mushroom and Black Bean Enchiladas, serves 3-5
This is a recipe that comes together with a little prep ahead. Most of the seasoning comes from the Spicy Tomato Sauce and the Creamy Black Beans. You can of course skip these and opt for ready-made enchilada sauce and canned black beans, but just understand the flavorings will be a little flat in comparison. After 10 years of blogging in this space, my Creamy Black Beans are the one recipe that I make from the blog most often and they have ruined our household of all other black beans, so if you have some time to prep and let them simmer ahead, they’re worth it. Otherwise, I used light coconut milk in the coconut lime sauce but a full-fat version would be a tasty and decadent alternative to top these enchiladas with. Enjoy!

coconut oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium sweet pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced and seeded
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 large handful of shiitake mushrooms, sliced (about 1 1/3 cups or 100 grams)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cups Creamy Black Beans
salt to taste
2 cups Spicy Tomato Sauce, see below
10 6-inch corn tortillas
Coconut lime sauce, see below

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Make the enchilada filling: In a large skillet, heat a little oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it’s soft, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes or a little more.
Stir in the garlic, cooked black beans, spices, and salt. Remove from the heat.
Brush a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with a little oil, then spread a heaping 1⁄2 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about 1⁄2 cup of the enchilada filling. Roll the tortillas and place them seam-side down in the baking dish. Pour the remaining 1-1/2 cup sauce over the enchiladas, down the middle, leaving a bit of the edges dry. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more.
While the enchiladas are baking, make the cilantro lime sauce, below.
Let the enchiladas cool slightly, then drizzle with half of the coconut lime sauce. Top Serve with the remaining cashew cream on the side, as desired.

Spicy Tomato Sauce
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 tsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried coriander
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. black pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil and garlic over medium-high heat. Saute garlic until just beginning to brown, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the tomatoes and spices.
Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium-low. Simmer for about 45 minutes to thicken a bit and have flavors develop. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. At this point, the sauce can be pureed if you’d like a smooth sauce, but I opted to leave it slightly chunky.

Coconut Lime Sauce
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 garlic clove
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp. sea salt

In a high-speed blender, place the coconut milk, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and salt and blend until smooth. Chill until ready to use.

Nutrition + Health, Running, Spring

Lemon + Sunflower Spring Quinoa

April 30, 2019by RebeccaLeave a Comment

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A few weeks ago when we were in Boston for the marathon and our post-grad school (me) / post-tax season (William) vacation, we stayed in a cozy third-story Airbnb apartment atop one of those ancient New England houses with narrow stairs and doors that close in every room. It was lovely and reminded me of my parents’ farmhouse before they tore out walls and opened up the space, but kept the narrow stairs.

The apartment had a tiny kitchen filled with old antique cabinets and a cozy eating nook luckily with skylight to let in more of the morning sun. What I loved about it — and every time we stay in a ‘cozy’ Airbnb actually, is that it reminds me of my time living in Ireland, cooking with whatever slim equipment is on hand, and creating simple meals with minimal ingredients. I’m often asked to share just these types of recipes. Admittedly, at home I prefer to plan meals a little more like a chef with a list of five or so meal ideas at the beginning of the week, and then I make one or two ‘parts’ of more complicated meals each day, often rolling over one component such as a sauce into another day and different meal. This isn’t the usual process for most people, I understand, but being in the kitchen is a major therapeutic relief and creativity space for me.

When traveling, I usually switch up my routine to make the simplest of meals, only planning one meal ahead the night before a major race, and leaving it up to whatever we feel like in the following days. Because of my food and digestion sensitivities, I’m a stickler about making my own meal before races, but then am often a bit more lenient afterwards. When we were in Boston, we ate out about half or a third of the time thanks to ending up in a really great section of the city for delicious and allergen-friendly food. The rest of the time, I improvised with a few of the ingredients I’d stuffed in my suitcase, my tiny Ireland-era traveling spice and seasoning case, and a stop at the grocery for some fresh produce. On our last night there, I ended up with a version of this spring quinoa combination and I immediately knew I had to recapture and finesse it for all y’all that prefer some simple weeknight inspirations!

At home, I added a couple fresh additions I didn’t have on the road like fresh mint and miso paste. I’ve kept them in the finished recipe because if you don’t already keep miso on hand to add umami flavor and depth to sauces, you definitely should try it. And fresh mint, though not always available without a garden, is a flavorful and helpful-for-digestion addition that can be added or not.

Lemon + Sunflower Spring Quinoa, makes main-dish servings for 4 to 5
1 cup dry quinoa, cooked ahead
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans or 1 can
1 small bunch broccoli, chopped semi-small
a couple large handfuls of mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch radishes with greens, washed well and sliced thin
1 cup peas
salt and pepper as needed
fresh mint, minced

Lemon + Sunflower Dressing
1/4 cup sunflower butter
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey or maple syrup (optional)
1 Tbs. light miso (I use chickpea miso)

Cook the quinoa and chickpeas ahead. Or use one can of drained chickpeas.
After all the vegetables are sliced, combine them in a large skillet with a little water to steam-fry. I like to add the broccoli first, cover for a few minutes, and then add the rest in stages with the mushrooms, radishes, and lastly the peas. Once they’re cooked through but not soggy-soft, add in the quinoa and beans, stir and heat just until it’s all warm. Season with salt and pepper to taste at this point.
While the vegetables are cooking, combine the dressing ingredients in a small dish and whisk with a fork or spoon until they come together well. Add a splash or two of water if needed to thin it up. The consistency should be spoon-able but not runny.
Pour the dressing over the quinoa and vegetables, mix it all together, and then sprinkle the mint leaves atop and serve.