Pineapples & Meatballs!

I sure do love the part-time life, folks! I found another fun recipe for my workday lunch!

The Goods
The sauce
1 ½ cup veggie broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp hot mustard sauce (in place of 1/3 cup vinegar)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch

½ package of veggie meat, ground beef style
¾ of 1 bell pepper
¾ cup of sliced pineapple with juice (almost ½ of 15 oz can)

Make small (1 inch-ish) balls from the veggie meat. I added a bit of curry powder and chili pepper to give them more flavor. Brown them in olive oil, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. You’ll finish cooking them completely later on.

Combine sauce ingredients in a separate bowl. Put aside.

Lightly sauté the green pepper and pineapple. Then add the sauce and the meatballs. Cook altogether over medium heat for another 7-10 minutes, if that. Taste, add a dash of salt or whatever strikes your fancy.


I served my meatballs over brown rice and topped with shredded coconut. Yum! As you can see, I added some stuff to it because I hate the taste of it plain. I always make it with 1/2 veggie broth and 1/2 water, and this time I added carrots and raisins to go with the overall sweet flavor of the meatballs and sauce.

If you would like to use ground beef, try this recipe.

Red Lentil & Artichoke Stew

Halfway through lunch I realized that I had forgotten to take a picture...



So I pulled out my camera. I thought I could do it. How hard could it be to snap a photo between bites?



Harder than I thought. This soup was too good, I tell ya!

You will have the same reaction, too. This red lentil artichoke stew is definitely where it's at! The biggest surprise? I used NO salt or curry powder, my two favorite condiments! I know, I was a bit skeptical, lol!

I found this soup while searching for ingredients and flavors besides my old standbyes. I wasn’t sure how to pull off Italian with no cheese, and whole grain pasta is wholly unappealing…So, clickety click click, I entered the ingredients I had on hand (red lentils, duh) and those I wanted to play with (artichokes and olives). Ta-da! Red lentil artichoke stew!

Lots of people refer to the Vegan Table for this recipe but I based mine off of this one here.

The Goods
1 cup diced yellow onion
2-3 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 cup dry red lentils
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 16-ounce can chopped tomatoes
1-15-ounce jar artichoke hearts, drained)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
black olives, sliced

Saute onions til golden. Add the garlic, cumin, and coriander and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the lentils, bay leaf, lemon juice, tomatoes and tomato liquid, artichoke hearts (and some juice but not all of it), and crushed red pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Add water (or veggie broth) if stew becomes too thick. Remove the bay leaf. Serve alone or over rice or pasta. (I served mine over brown rice that I embellished with bell peppers and onion.)

Savory and simple! Two spoons up!

Give Those Brushes a Swirl!

When Afrobella recently asked her readers how they clean their make up brushes, I realized that for me, it wasn’t a matter of how, but how often! Umm, let’s just say that make up cleaner was one of those things I Lost In The Move.

Well, no time like the present, huh?

Now that I’m (mostly) all natural, I looked up homemade make up cleaner. Below is a youtube link by Kandee Johnson for an extremely easy method. All you need is olive oil and liquid dish soap. (I dabbed my brushes in tea tree oil before washing them with an all natural dishwashing liquid. Tea tree oil’s anti-bacterial properties make it a fantastic disinfectant!)



Easy, huh? My brushes came out cleaner than I expected! I like this method because it’s gentle and made with products I already have in my home.

Coconut Carrot Splash

Without further ado, my favorite summer soup--Coconut Carrot Splash! This soup is frigging delicious--I couldn't wait for lunch this week!



Coconut Carrot Splash is my own creation, the result of forgetting original ingredients and incorporating fringe elements--beets and kale. Personally, I just love beets and carrots together and kale's pungent flavor always reminds me of curries. And I'm trying to get my vitamins!

The Goods
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsps curry powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
1 medium bay leaf
2 cups veggie broth
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 cup kale
1/4 of 15 oz can of sliced beets
juice from 1/2 medium lemon
salt

Brown the curry powder in the olive oil.

Then add: onions, broth, carrots, beets, bay leaf and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer about 15 minutes. Add kale or other leafy green and simmer until the greens are wilted, no more than 5 minutes.

In batches, puree the soup in a blender. When it's all blended, add the coconut milk. Add the lemon juice and salt. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve hot or cold, by itself or over rice. Enjoy!

This recipe is inspired by the Curried Carrot Soup at Chow. Try this one if you don't like beets and kale.