Vegan Cabbage Rolls with Thai Peanut Sauce

I haven't posted in a long time- apologies. I was busy having a baby♡ We were surprised to have another boy! That makes #3... which means Dad and the boys share a bathroom and Queen Mama gets her own:-) Score!

On to more good news... since I have so much time off of work, I have been trying some new recipes and I've been having a blast! Tonight I decided to make stuffed cabbage leaves. I was craving Dolmas: a traditional Greek dish (grape leaves stuffed with a dirty rice and a lemon sauce), but grape leaves are hard to come by here in this small town. I had some coconut milk and cabbage, so I decided to do a Thai meal instead.   I served this with salmon, but next time I'm going to make this the main course- they're very filling.

Luckily, the cabbage dish was super yummy. Easy too, and healthy. It was pretty inexpensive- and even more so since I used what I had in my kitchen;-) It would be easy to add or substitute ingredients.

This is what I used:

1 head of green cabbage (I didn't use the whole thing, just the big leaves- two leaves per roll)
3 cups cooked rice (I like Jasmine rice)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced julienne
1 bell pepper, sliced finely (I used red)
1 onion, sliced
1 head broccoli, chopped
3 sticks celery, chopped
1 can coconut milk
4 tbs peanut butter (I used natural smooth, but chunky would work)
1 tbs soy sauce
Juice of one large orange
1 tbs dried ginger (you can sub fresh ginger... I would have but I didn't have any on hand)
2 tbs curry paste (you can sub curry powder instead, but I like the flavor of the peppers and lemongrass)

(I would have LOVED bean sprouts, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and snap peas, but I didn't have any at my house and grocery shopping was out of the question;-) Something spicy, like jalapeno, would have paired well, but kids were eating this too so I left it out.)

Cook the rice according to the directions and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all of the veggies. Add the rice and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine coconut milk,  peanut butter, soy sauce, orange juice, curry powder, and ginger and whisk together well.

Add 1 cup of the peanut sauce to the rice mixture and stir well.

Peel apart the cabbage until you have about 16 large leaves. Rinse them well in water. Spoon the mixture into the leaves and roll up tightly, the roll in another leaf (each roll will have two leaves). Arrange them in a casserole dish, like you would enchiladas.

Close up after baking.  The leaves should start to brown, but not burn.

Pour the remaining peanut sauce over the rolls. Bake at 400 for about 25-35 minutes.

If you aren't into vegan, you could add cooked chicken to the stuffing. Shrimp or tofu would also be yummy.  The vegan version is the perfect "meatless Monday" dish.

Ginger Cilantro Salmon with Cucumber Relish

Busy Mama Recipes



This is another recipe I got from my mom.  It was one of my favorites when I was younger because I love Salmon and ginger.  I was thinking about it today, and I'm bummed- Kevin dislikes cilantro AND ginger (I know, he is weird), so I can never make this dish:-(  The only time I make it is when we have the kids (Stewart loves it) AND there is leftover pizza for Kevin to eat.

My mom made this a lot, and I'm not exactly sure where she got the recipe... maybe in her head, maybe a cookbook... who knows.  But, it's delish:

Start with the salmon.  Choose salmon that is pink and not gross looking (I can't handle when fish looks slimy and weird).   Thank God for Nessa in my seafood department, otherwise I don't know what I would do:-) 

I usually get half a salmon, just one fillet with the skin still on.  It feeds my family and we have a little bit leftover for some lunch the next day.  You can adjust the amount, though, depending on how many you're feeding.  (BTW, I have no idea how many pounds that is... haha)

Put the salmon fillet, skin down, on a foil lined cookie sheet or casserole dish.

Ginger Cilantro Marinade:

1 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves only, chopped
about 4-8 tbs fresh grated ginger, depending on how much you want
1 1/2 tsp Sesame oil
3 tbs olive oil, blend oil, or grapeseed oil
salt and white pepper

Blend it all in the food processor until it makes a paste similar to pesto.  You can add more oil or water to make it thinner if you need to.  It's very important to make sure the mixture is blended with no big chunks, because fresh herbs will burn in the oven unless pureed completely. Paint it on the salmon and let it sit in the fridge while you prepare the rest (or, let it sit overnight- I have found the longer it sits, the less "fishy" it tastes).

Cucumber Relish:

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced (I prefer English cucumbers, which you don't have to peel)
1 red bell pepper, diced (you can use yellow or orange too, but red is prettiest)
1/2 - 1 red onion, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbs Rice Vinegar (if you don't like rice vinegar, you can use lime juice instead)
salt and white pepper to taste
*I have added dill a few times because my grandparents dry it so I have an overabundance each year.  It was never a part of my mom's recipe, nor is it really necessary, but it's yummy.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Bake the salmon with the ginger cilantro mixture on it for about 30 minutes.  Then, turn the oven on broil low and cook for another 3 minutes or so, watching to make sure the top doesn't burn.  Take the salmon out and serve with the cucumber relish on the side.  It's a very refreshing dish.  

I usually serve it with cilantro lime rice or spring rolls.  It makes a great bbq meal too, if you grill the fish instead of broiling it.

Leftover Idea:

Toss the leftover relish and salmon pieces with noodles.  If needed, add a dressing made with sesame oil, blend oil, lime juice, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Add some chopped broccoli and make it into an Asian style pasta salad, served with crunchy noodles.

Wine Pairing:

Sake, of course;-)

Alternative:

A lot of people don't like salmon (which is sad because they obviously don't know what they're missing).  I have had this relish and marinade on pork chops.  We made everything the same and then grilled the pork and served it with an Asian style rice salad.  It was great for a bbq! 

Yum Diet

Busy Mama Recipes



My aunt and stepmom are doing this diet thing.  I don't know EXACTLY what it is, but I know they are extremely restricted in what they are allowed to eat.  It is pretty close to the paleo diet as far as the types of foods they have (if it didn't have a mother and didn't grow from the Earth, don't eat it).  No sugar, limit fruits, limit salts and oils, eat as many vegetables as possible, and have only lean protein (like chicken or turkey).

Well, unfortunately my family LOVES food.  LOVES it.  It's insanely lucky that we have good genes, otherwise we would all be morbidly obese. Poor Annette has to have dry toast and a piece of fruit for breakfast with ONE cup of black coffee, is allowed 23 almonds (not 24, only 23), brown rice, plain chicken, veggies, etc.  No fun.  Today for a snack she was eating cottage cheese (which, by the way, she has always hated) with tomato slices and pepper.  I asked her why she was eating it, and she explained that it has lots of protein and not many calories.  She said she was tired of eating the same things everyday, but since she is not a super talented chef, she could not think of anything "safe" to make that would get her out of this slump.

And we all know, unless you are totally committed to a diet, it's not going to work.

So, I promised her I would think of some things for her to eat, and I have come up with a few.  I decided to post them on here because even though we aren't all on this diet, it's still yummy, healthy food.

Here is the first one that can be used as a snack:

Put one cup of low fat or fat free cottage cheese in the blender and blend until smooth.  Add 2 tsp each dill, parsley, dried onion, garlic powder, and lemon pepper.  It will be like a ranch dip that you can use as a dip for veggies or on a lettuce wrap.

The second one is more complicated, but still pretty easy:-)  It's a type of lasagna with zucchini instead of noodles.

Slice zucchini until you have enough to cover a 9x13 pan four times.  Slices should be thick.

Blend three cups of cottage cheese like above, and add the juice and zest of one lemon, 3 tsp oregano and parsley, and some black pepper.

Place a layer of zucchini on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.  Add layers of canned tomato, sliced onion, mushroom, shredded carrot, spinach leaves, and any other vegetables you want.

Add another layer of zucchini, a layer or canned tomato, and a layer of the cheese mixture.

Add a layer of zucchini and the rest of the cheese mixture.  Top with the last layer of zucchini.

Bake in the oven on 350 for about 45 minutes.  If the top starts to get too brown, cover with tin foil.

You can also substitute eggplant for the zucchini, or use any kind of squash you want, really.  Ground turkey or pieces of chicken would be delicious if added, just be sure to cook the meat first.

And last but not least ( can you tell I'm craving Italian pasta dishes right now?):

Make an organic marinara sauce using tomato, carrot, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme, oregano, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  You can make it any way you'd like as long as it's mostly vegetables.  Just simmer everything on the stove (add water or tomato juice if needed) and puree with an immersion blender once the vegetable are fully cooked.

Also, to give it some protein, blend some cottage cheese and add it to the marinara.  It will make a creamy tomato sauce- sort of like the vodka sauce you can buy at the store- minus the vodka and additives.

Then, instead of using pasta, put a spaghetti squash- which are in season right now-in the microwave for five minutes (puncture a few times so it wont explode).  Then cut it in half lengthwise and shred with a fork.  "Noodles" will instantly appear.  Perfecto!  PS:  This recipe is also perfect for those on low carb diets or who are gluten free!