Quinoa Sushi, Ginger Pate Sushi, Raw Soy Sauce

 

Right now, I am in the middle of a New Years cleanse that a friend invited me to join.  If you follow this blog regularly, then you know that I usually eat clean on a daily basis.  However, one of my favorite staples, rice, is not allowed on this cleanse.  So, I give to you two cleanse friendly sushi recipes!  We've got a Quinoa Sushi Roll and a Ginger Pate Sushi roll.  Both are incredibly easy to make and top notch deliciousness!  Quinoa actually works very well in sushi because it holds together a lot like rice does.  The main difference is that quinoa allows for a lighter roll and a fresher taste.  It is now my favorite type of sushi by far.

Here is what you're going to need for the Quinoa Sushi Roll:

• 2 cups quinoa
• 3 3/4 cups water
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 4-6 sheets of nori
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1-2 Persian cucumbers, julienned

Method:

1. Place water and quinoa in a pot and bring to boil.  Cover and reduce to simmer.  Cook quinoa for about 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed, the quinoa have little tails and is slightly translucent.
2. Transfer cooked quinoa to a non-metallic bowl.  Gently stir in the rice vinegar with a non-metallic spoon.  Cover and set aside.
3. Slice the avocado and julienne the cucumber.  Set on a plate for easy access while making sushi.
4. If you have a bamboo rolling mat, place the nori sheet shiny side down.  Gently press quinoa onto the sheet leaving about 2 inches of space at the top of the roll.  Lay veggies horizontally along the bottom.  To roll, just take the side closest to you and gently fold the end over the veggies and tuck.  Keep rolling until you are at then end of the roll and a little bit of nori wrapper is exposed.  To seal the roll, wet the end of the nori sheet with water and seal.  If you need a little more help, click here for my picture tutorial. 

*Sushi rolling tip: Wet fingers will keep pieces of quinoa from sticking to your hands and will make for easier rolling.

 

To serve, just slice the roll into 1" pieces and serve with soy sauce or my Raw Soy Sauce.

 

 

 

 

Ginger Pate Sushi:

 

Ginger Almond Pate:

• 3 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp. sea salt (optional)
• 2 cups raw almonds
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1/2 cup filtered water, use as needed

Sushi Roll:

• 1 batch ginger almond pate
• 2-3 romaine leaves, chiffonade
• 1 medium carrot, julienned
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 cucumber, julienned
• 1 soft yellow squash, julienned
• 4-6 nori sheets

Raw Soy Sauce

• 1 Portobello mushroom, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. sea salt
• 2 cups filtered water

Method for Soy Sauce:

1. Add mushroom, salt and 1/2 cup water to blender.  Blend on high speed for about 10 seconds then begin to slowly add the rest of the water.  Blend until smooth.
2. Strain to remove any mushroom pieces before serving.

Method for the pate:

1. To a food processor fitted with the "S-blade" add the ginger, garlic and salt.  Process into small pieces.
2. Add the almonds and lemon juice and process until smooth.
3. With the processor running, add the water as needed for a hummus like consistency.  Put into a small bowl and set aside.

To Roll the Sushi:

1. Prepare all of your veggies on a plate and set near your rolling space.

2. Just like the roll above, lay the nori sheet shiny side down and place on top of the bamboo rolling mat if you have one.  Add the pate to the nori sheet in a rectangle at the end closest to you.  On top of that, add your veggies.  Then rock n' roll!
   

 

Enjoy your homemade vegan sushi!  Filling options are limitless and I encourage everyone to play around with ingredients.  Happy sushi making!

Itadakimasu,
Venturing Vegan

 

Pumpkin Quinoa Stir Fry

Instead of fried rice (which I do love but it's not too healthy) try this delicious and colorful Pumpkin Quinoa Stir Fry!  Loaded with flavor and protein (thank you quinoa for containing ALL essential amino acids) this dish is hearty and will satisfy at the dinner table.  Why not bring the Fall season indoors with this fragrant, beautiful, and quick dish!

Ingredients:
Serves 2
Pumpkin Quinoa Stir Fry:
1 cup tri color quinoa, cooked (plain quinoa works as well)
1/2 cup tempeh, cut in bite-sized cubes
2 cups pumpkin, cubed
1/2 cup red onion, sliced in crescents
4 cups curly green kale, chopped and de-stemmed OR spinach
1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh garlic, crushed, minced
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup zucchini, cut in quarter moons OR 1/4 cup broccoli florets
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. coriander
Pinch of cayenne
Salt and Pepper to taste
3-4 Tbsp. Tamari or Soy Sauce (organic, non gmo)
Sesame Seeds to garnish (optional)
Cilantro to garnish (optional)


Method:

In a sauté pan, add the coconut oil and bring to medium-high heat.  Add the onions, ginger, and tempeh and add 2 Tbsp. tamari.  Stir occassionaly and cook for 3-5 minutes or until onions begin to soften.  Add pumpkin, bell pepper, zucchini or broccoli, and kale or spinach.  Cook for about 10 minutes, stir occasionally.  Add the spices, the cooked quinoa, the rest of the tamari and the cherry tomatoes.  Cook for two minutes and then lower to medium-low heat.  Cook for additional 5 minutes or until kale is wilted.

To plate:
Scoop into bowl, garnish with sesame seeds, cilantro, and sriracha!  Enjoy!

Craving some dessert?  Why not try my Raw Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Frosting?

I hope you enjoy these recipes! Thank you for stopping by!

Pumpkin Curry with Sweet Potato and Sprouted Chickpea

 

Curry is one of the most simple and delicious foods on the planet.  Thai food rocks my world but a lot of it is fried and fatty.  Curry can easily be healthy without compromising on flavor or satisfaction in the least.  It's also a wonderful opportunity to add in new herbs and spices to your culinary life.  Turmeric, ginger, cumin, coriander, chili, lemongrass, and basil are some of the building blocks for traditional Thai curry dishes.  Today, I am sharing a red curry dish made using store bought red curry paste.  Red curry paste is easy to make from scratch but buying a premade jar is perfect for this recipe since preparing a pumpkin can take some time.  Since we are right in the middle of October, one of my favorite months of the year, we are making everything pumpkin!  You will love this pumpkin curry and feel free to swap in or out ingredients.  Curry is very forgiving when it comes to what vegetables are put in.  However, this is a quite a lovely combo and I do suggest you give sprouting a try because it is so easy and the sprouted mung beans and chickpeas really make this dish special.  Here we go, one pumpkin curry coming up!

Pumpkin Curry Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 sweet potato, cubed
2 cups pumpkin, cubed (cut in half, remove seeds, cut away outer skin then cut into cubes)
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced (I used 1/4 red and 1/4 yellow but use what you have)
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1 to 1 1/2 cups tofu, pressed, cubed
1 tsp. fresh ginger, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup sprouted garbanzo beans
3-4 Tbsp. red curry paste
1 can coconut milk or coconut cream
3 cups vegetable broth
1-3 Tbsp. sriracha (depending on how hot you want it)
1/4 cup mung beans (for garnish)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (garnish)
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. In a medium/large sauce pan, add the coconut oil and bring to medium heat.  Once the oil is melted, add the onions, sweet potato and ginger.  Give a stir and let cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the onions just start to soften and brown.  Stir every minute or so.
2.  Add the broth and bring to boil.  Reduce to simmer and add pumpkin, bell pepper, tofu and sprouted garbanzo. Cover and allow to simmer to 15 minutes. 
3.  In the meantime, add the coconut milk and curry paste to blender.  Blend until well incorporated.
4.  Add red curry coconut milk to soup and stir.  Add in the sriracha and stir well.  Test your sweet potato and pumpkin with a fork to make sure they are soft.  Reduce heat to low for serving.

To Serve:  Take a small bowl/dish and add cooked quinoa to the bowl.  Pack it in well.  Take your plate and put it over the bowl.  Then flip.  Lift the bowl to leave a perfectly molded quinoa on the plate.  Add chopped cilantro and mung beans to garnish the quinoa and add curry to the plate.  Enjoy!

Quinoa Crispies

We vegans really love our quinoa!  It is one of those sparkling plant based sources of complete protein.  Quinoa contains all essential amino acids and is a low fat source of protein.  Cooked, sprouted, puffed or any form that you love to create allows quinoa to be a versatile and nourishing little powerhouse of a seed.  As cooler weather begins to set in, I'm craving a snack that will make me think of my favorite snacks from childhood (doesn't Halloween season remind everyone of their youth??) and since I loved rice crispies the new grown up version is the Quinoa Crispy. 

Easy to make and enjoyed by all, these Quinoa Crispies will go fast!  Perfect to take to a party and very flexible in ingredients.  I think my next batch will have more chocolate chips, maybe only chocolate chips, or maybe chocolate chips and more coconut.  This recipe calls for cranberry, blueberry, shredded coconut and chocolate chips and has been a fantastic post workout snack and on the run snack.  I hope you guys like them!

Quinoa Crispies
Makes 24 squares
4 cups quinoa crispies (found in bulk foods)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried blueberries
2/3 cup dried coconut flakes
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (vegan ones should be easy to find)
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1 cup organic creamy peanut butter (room temp)
1 cup organic brown rice syrup

Method:
In a large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients.  Mix gently and set aside.  Line an 8-inchx8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.

Pour brown rice syrup into a medium sized saucepan and place over medium heat.  Stir frequently until the syrup begins to bubble.  Keep a good eye so that the syrup does not burn.  Remove from heat and immediately mix in the peanut butter.  Once the two are mixed well, our the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.  Then press the mixture into the baking dish.  Chill until firm.  Cut and serve chilled or at room temperature.  Enjoy!

 

Please feel free to share this recipe with anyone and everyone! Sharing is caring and vegan food happens when recipes are plentiful!  For more vegan inspiration, visit Venturing Vegan on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

 

Happy Fall to all of my wonderful readers!

 

 

 

 



Hawaiian Quinoa Salad

Summer always reminds me of traveling to one of my favorite destinations in the world, Hawaii.  Drenched in sunshine and the sweet scent of plumeria, my mother and I visited pineapple farms, ate pineapple ice cream, indulged in chocolate covered macadamia nuts and soaked up the flavors of the island.  This Hawaiian Quinoa Salad combines all of my favorite and most cherished flavors of summer, salt air and Hawaiian pineapple farms.  I've added mango to the mix because the rich flavors and delicate texture of the mango fruit always make me think of sunshine.  Just another way to summer up this awesome salad.

Having a fully stocked Asian pantry makes it easy to create delicious marinades and dressings like the one I've used for this salad.  This week, I've loaded up on all of my must have Asian cooking staples like mirin, rice vinegar, sesame oil, tamari, nori sheets, green noodles, sushi rice, green tea and coconut milk. For the perishables, I've got green onion, miso paste, coconuts, pineapple, bell peppers, and organic sprouted tofu.  That big brown fruit behind the red bell pepper is Hawaiian taro root for a Taro Root Cheesecake that I'll be making later this week.

 

Since I was stocking up goodies today, I grabbed some of these summertime beauties as well.

 



Ok, time to get cooking!  This Hawaiian Quinoa Salad brings together all of the bright colors and flavors of summer into one nutritious salad that everyone will love!  Here we go!

Makes 8-10 Servings
Ingredients:

1/2 medium white or yellow onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 1/4  cup quinoa
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup light coconut milk
1 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 to 2 mango, diced (or 1 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, diced)
1 cup toasted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
6 green onions, sliced

Dressing ingredients

1 1/2 Tablespoons white mellow miso
1 1/2 Tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce
3 Tablespoons pineapple juice
1 1/2 teaspoons mirin
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

Directions:
1. In a medium sized saucepan, add the onion, garlic, and sesame oil.  Saute on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the onions are softened.
2.  Add the dry quinoa and stir until toasted.  (This will make for a fluffy quinoa). 
3.  Add organic vegetable broth and coconut milk.  Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cover.  Cook until all of the liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes) and the quinoa is fluffy.  Give the quinoa a stir to make sure all the liquid is absorbed.  If not, allow to cook for a few additional minutes.  Once the quinoa is cooked, remove from heat and allow it to cool.
4.  While your quinoa is cooling, dice your bell pepper and mango.  To dice mango: Slice the fruit in half around the core.  Take each half and cut a criss-cross pattern.  Then push up on the center of the skin side of each slice to push up the criss-crossed pieces.  Then cut off each piece for easy, diced mango.

5.  Chop the macadamia nuts and slice the green onions.
6.  Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir.
7.  Add chopped bell pepper, mango, macadamia and green onions to cooled quinoa.  Gently fold ingredients into quinoa.  Pour dressing over salad and gently stir. Let chill in the refrigerator for an hour and up to overnight. 

We had a bbq today to enjoy the beautiful ocean view and served up Black Bean Veggie Burgers with Veggie Kabobs to accompany the Hawaiian Quinoa Salad.

 

After our Hawaiian feast, we took a walk down to the pier to enjoy this beautiful sunset

Thank you for stopping by the Venturing Vegan blog!  All views are greatly appreciated and please share any and all recipes with friends and family!  Recipes should be like the summer sun, enjoyed by all and always free!  If you tried this recipe and loved it, please comment below and let me know your thoughts. Enjoy and have a wonderful summer!