Glitter Spice

I remember the first time that I had tofu…I was 15 and I had just stopped eating meat. I put it into my stir-fry bowl at a Mongolian restaurant and I hated it. The texture was way weird and it kind of disintegrated in my mouth…YUCK! I actually didn’t start to like tofu until I started eating Thai food, their tofu was super firm and they crisped the heck out of it. Everything is better fried! I can now eat tofu in almost any form, but I still really love a good crispy tofu. I am long overdue on posting this recipe, since I make this tofu at least once a week to add to my dishes when I need a little extra protein in my life.

Ingredients

1 Block Extra-Firm Tofu (Non-GMO)
2 TBS Coconut Oil
Additional Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cut tofu into 3/4 inch thick cutlets.

Tofu cut into cutlets resting on a paper towel

2. Press tofu to remove excess moisture. To do so, line a plate with several paper towels. Place tofu on paper towels and top with two or three more paper towels. Place three or four more plates or your favorite cookbooks on top of the tofu, making sure they’re well balanced.

Tofu with paper towel on top with a couple of my favorite cookbooks resting on top of it. I love Heidi’s cookbook!

3. Drain for 20 – 30 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure plates/cookbooks are still balanced.

4. Add the coconut oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.

5. Drop a couple drops to water into the hot oiled skillet to make sure the oil is hot before you add the tofu. The water should pop and that is how you know the oil is ready.

6. Carefully add tofu to hot oil in skillet. Cook over medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes on each side in a covered skillet, flip the tofu when it is lightly brown on that side.

7. Remove tofu from pan and place on several paper towels, blotting to remove excess oil.

8. I like to the cut my tofu cutlets into little cubes and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. I then use these little nuggets of happiness in any of my recipes that I am craving a little extra protein. These are also great on their own dipped into a little Sriracha.

Enjoy!

*Note – If you want your tofu to be ever more crispy, freeze the tofu before you use it. Just place the whole package in your freezer and thaw in the fridge the next day. You will notice that your tofu is more porous (great fro absorbing more tasty sauce) and it will change in color from white to an off white color. The tofu becomes a bit more dense after you freeze it and will crisp up like a dream. YumYumYum!

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Tofu. This post has no comments yet.

We are finally getting settled in our NYC apartment after our epic seven day 4300 mile road trip across the country. We moved to NYC, because Derika was transferred with her job. We left behind a great city, amazing beaches, and some really fantastic friends, but we are excited for a new adventure in our new city. Derika, Julia the Mystical Traveling Unicorn (a thoughtful road trip gift from a great friend) and I, left lovely San Diego on August 30th with a goal to make it to NYC by Sept 5th. We knew that this gave us a decent amount of time, but that in order to cover that many miles in that amount of time we would have to be strategic about where we stopped along the way. First on our list was the Grand Canyon National park and that is what we were headed for our first day of driving.

Julia the Mystical Traveling Unicorn - Leading the way

Follow the horn!

Our goal was to make it to the Grand Canyon by sunset, so that first day we did not do that much stopping. We did make it to the canyon in time for sunset and it was even more beautiful than I could have imagined!

Julia the MTU enjoying the sunset at the Grand Canyon

We ended up spending the night right outside of the Grand Canyon National Park (because it got dark super fast)… we woke up early the next day and pointed our sights to Nashville, TN. We knew that we would get into a few things before we made it to Nashville, but it was nice to have a goal. One of the many stops and one of my favorite trourist stops was in Arizona. We stopped off at a giant Meteor Crater in Arizona. This place had signs along the highway a million miles before the actual tourist site, so of course we had to stop! This crater is one of the most well known and most preserved craters on Earth…who knew!?

Julia the MTU at the Meteor Crater

After the crater, we were barreling down the highway when we started to see signs about a random Blue Hole…so of course we got sucked into the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM., this was Derika’s doing and I am so glad that it happened. The Blue Hole is a clear blue swimming hole that is known as one of the best diving spots in the US! It is literally in the middle of nowhere. The locals were using it to cliff jump and to cool off in, but there were divers there practicing their diving skills as well. It was so blue that it actually looked fake.

Julia the MTU at the Blue Hole

After buying a pair of moccasins, a couple of pitstops and some crazy monsoon weather, we set our sights on Santa Fe, NM, based off of a friends recommendation and for my love of all things spicy.

The maccasins that I now own!

Santa Fe was definitely a great detour. We got to see our first New Mexico Hatch Green Chilies being roasted. Who knew they roasted them in something that looks like the balls the lottery numbers are drawn from!? Santa Fe slathers everything and I mean everything with their green chili sauce. I Ioved the green chilies, but it is not for the weak of stomach…this sauce totally kicked our butts. We woke up the next morning in search of some more green chili sauce, which we found. In the process we stumbled upon a great art fair, where we bought an amazing Indian bracelet to remember Santa Fe by and enjoyed some awesome iced tea.

The best iced tea of our lives…

I would loved to have spent some more time in Santa Fe, gorging myself on green chilies, but the next day we put the pedal to the metal and gunned it to Nashville, TN. It was Derika’s birthday, so it was a bummer that this was one of our longest days in the car. Fortunately, we made it to Nashville in time for some Birthday cheer and a little boot scootin’s at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. I was excited to go to Tootsie’s Lounge, one of the most famous places in Nashville, to see some live music and for a cocktail or two. It was packed even for a Monday night, but we still had a great time.

Birthday cheer before Tootsies

We woke up the next morning, drove through the Kentrucky Bourbon Trail, (which I am putting on my list for a future weekend road trip) and stopped off at the end of the trail just in time to catch the last tour and bourbon tasting at the Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Julia the MTU enjoying some bourbon

After a little bourbon, we crossed the state line over into Pennsylvania where we drove a few more hours and then stopped and spent the night in Harrisburg, PA. I wanted to go to the Hershey Factory before we sailed into NYC and Harrisburg was the perfect place to stop. We enjoyed some amazing thai food and Julia the MTU enjoyed some beer at a local brewery.

Julia the MTU double hooving it…

The next day we were off in search of chocolate at the Hershey Factory. Trust me folks, this is something that you do not want to miss. We got to make our own chocolate bars, and learned how to properly taste chocolate…so fun!

The outfits are really what made it…

After we were stuffed with chocolate, we rolled ourselves into the car and headed for NYC. Due to traffic, we did not make it to NYC until sunset on Sept 5th, but we made it and it was one of the most fun road trips I have ever been on.

…and just like that, we are now residents of NYC!

We ate a ton of great food on the road, but I was so excited to get the kitchen of our new place up and running so that I could make some home cooked food. The first thing that I whipped up was a Shirataki Noodle Stir-fry with a ton of veggies, I was feeling a little veggie deprived. Soooo good! Recipe coming soon!

Shirataki Noodle Veggie Stir-fry

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Uncategorized. This post has one comment.

I am sitting on my balcony right now listening to the ocean and the sound of boxes being taped, as the last of our belongings get loaded into the moving truck that will be headed to NYC. My neighbor bunny is not pleased with the situation and is currently giving me the stink eye.

The Bunny giving me the stink eye

Tomorrow we are off on a week-long road trip that will eventually lead us to NYC.

Moving!

Along the way we plan on stopping at the Grand Canyon, the Jack Daniels Distillery, Nashville and we hope to check out the bourbon trail in Kentucky. I plan on documenting all of this and I hope to do a fun road trip post along the way. I wanted to post something before we hit the road, and this is the first thing that came to me. I am still on my kale kick and I am still so surprised at how versatile it can be. This recipe is perfect for a warm summer night… I decided to add some tofu to my salad to make it a meal.

Ingredients

For The Salad

1 Bunch Dinosaur or Lacinato Kale, the dark green leafy kale
Freshly Grated Parmesan
½ Cup Roasted garlic vinaigrette (recipe follows)
2 Persian Cucumbers
Cubed crispy tofu

For The Dressing

1 Head Garlic
1/3 Cup Olive oil
Juice of 1 Lemon (about ¼ cup)
2 Tsp Dijon Mustard
½ Tsp Salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove the outer layers from the head of garlic so the individual cloves are exposed.
Chop off the top ¼ inch of the head so you can see the raw cloves within their skins.
Place on a sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap up so the packet is tightly sealed.
Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until the cloves are soft to the touch. Remove from the foil packet and allow to cool.
When cool enough to touch, squeeze the cloves out of their skins and add to a food processor.
Puree the garlic clove along with the lemon juice, mustard, salt, and 1/3 cup olive oil. Taste and add more olive oil as necessary to reach the consistency you like. This should be a thick dressing – much like Caesar. Now onto the salad!
Remove the thick stalks from the center of the kale. Tear the leaves into chip size pieces and place it in a colander and wash throughly.
Dry the leaves in a salad spinner or pat dry with a paper bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the kale and cucumbers together with the vinaigrette.
Grate 2 TBS of fresh parmesan or more if you are feeling cheesy and toss again.
Place salad on a plate and top with some fresh fried tofu or your protein of choice.

I also ate my salad with a side of Velvety Smooth Hummus and some veggies….sooo tasty!

Tah Dah!

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Garlic, Kale, Tofu. This post has 4 comments.

Veggie Bowl-Rito with Sassy Sauce

Back in the day my favorite quick meal to make at home was a garbage quesadilla. What is a garbage quesadilla, you ask? Basically veggies and a veggie friendly protein stuffed into a tortilla with cheese (everything is better with cheese), fold the stuffed tortilla in half and brown in a pan on both sides. I am trying to not eat as many gluten products these days, so I have been making the heck out of Veggie Bowl-Ritos. What is a Veggie Bowl-Rito, you ask?Basically a healthier version of a veggie burrito minus the tortilla and rice. I have eliminated the tortilla and dump as much mexican goodness into a bowl as I can, and voilà you have a banging Bowl-Rito. You can really put whatever your little heart desires into this bad boy, but I will share with you what has been in my Bowl-Rito lately.

Ingredients

Makes about 2 Bowl-Ritos.

1/4 Cup Cooked Quinoa
1/4 Cup Black Beans or Mexican Black Beans (recipe coming soon)
2-3 TBS of Sassy Sauce (secret ingredient)
1/2-1 Cup Fried Tofu or protein of choice
1/2 Cup Lightly Sautéed Kale (recipe coming soon)
1/4 Cup Sautéed Onions
1/4 Cup Sautéed Peppers
1/4 Cup Sautéed Broccoli
1/4 Tomatoes, diced or Homemade Pico de Gallo
1/3 Cup Cilantro, stems removed
1/2 Avocado, chopped
1/4 Cup Grated Cheese of your choice. Feel free to increase the cheese amount 🙂

Directions

Cook your quinoa, beans, veggies and protein the way that you like it.
In a bowl layer quinoa, then black beans and top them with a layer of the Sassy Sauce. The Sassy Sauce is the reason that I eat Bowl-Ritos…. 🙂
Then add your tofu or protein of choice and then top that with your sautéed veggies.
Top all of this magic with diced tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, grated cheese and another dollop of Sassy Sauce for good measure.
Sometimes if I am feeling really spicy, I will top my Bowl-Rito with my favorite hot sauce (which is Cholula, but I am currently obsessed with Gringo Bandito.) If I am feeling spicy and a little sassy, I eat my Veggie Bowl-Rito with a small side of my favorite tortilla chips. I know the tortilla chips kind of defeat the no tortilla purpose…but sometimes I just can’t help myself.

If I am not trying a new restaurant or experimenting with something new in the kitchen, you can guarantee that I am eating Bowl-Ritos a few nights a week. Which might sound boring, but it makes me a happy camper, because the possibilities are endless.

*Note: If you want to make a Breakfast Bowl-Rito just add a fried or scrambled egg to this bowl of happiness, and you have the breakfast of champions. 🙂 I am getting hungry just thinking about it. Enjoy!

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Avocado, Broccoli, Kale, Onions, Tomatoes. This post has 2 comments.

Chipotle Almond Sauce aka Sassy Sauce

Things are changing on my end. Derika and I are in the process of getting ready to relocate to NYC for her job at the end of this month! My days have been spent enjoying the beach, cooking and purging all of the things that we will not be able to take with us on this move. All of this purging has gotten me to thinking about all of the great things about San Diego that I will miss. Favorite restaurants, great friends, ocean sunsets on our balcony, beach days, farmer’s markets and all of the tasty treats that are at the markets. I love going to the farmer’s markets in San Diego, especially the one in Ocean Beach. It is crazy how you can pretty much get strawberries year round and the produce in the summer time is to die for. In addition to the amazing produce, I buy this super tasty almond sauce from a local vendor called Bitchin’ Sauce. Ok, I have to admit I am completely addicted to their Chipotle Bitchin’ Sauce, and I pretty much slather it on anything that I can. Bitchin’s Sauce just started shipping across the US, which is amazing!!! But on the other hand I had a lovely friend visit me this summer, and said “Dee, this is amazing, but you can totally make this…” Thank you Flower 🙂

Since then It has been on my list to see if I can crack the code and make my own version. The Bitchin’ Sauce has all of the ingredients listed on the packaging minus the amounts and the secret spices, so I had to do a lot of taste testing to make sure I got it right…it was totally awful! ;). I started right off and made the chipotle version, because why waste your time on the original flavor when the chipotle one is so darn tasty!? What I came up with is not a exact copy of the Bitchin’ Sauce, but it is super yummy and I am gonna call it Sassy Sauce. I hope you enjoy this recipe. I just want to warn you that I ate this sauce on everything the first week that I made it. So make sure that your house is filled with some extra veggies, chips or whatever you like for dipping.

Dani’s Version of Bitchin’ Sauce aka Sassy Sauce aka Chipotle Almond Sauce…

Ingredients for the Sassy Sauce

Ingredients

3/4 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Grapeseed Oil
1/2 Cup Raw Almonds
1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
3 TBSP Nutritional Yeast
2 Cloves Garlic
2 Tsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tsp Coriander
1/4 Tsp Paprika
3 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (you can always add more if you want more of a kick)
1/4 Cup Diced White Onion

Directions

Place all ingredients in a high-powdered blender. (I just got a VitaMix and I am in love.)
Slowly blend for one minute. Turn the dial up to high, and continue to blend for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. The sauce should be the consistency of a thick salad dressing
Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container. The sauce may separate in the fridge, but just stir that bad boy and it’s as good as new.

One of my favorite ways to use the Chipotle Almond Sauce is on a Veggie Bowl-Rito… basically a burrito in a bowl without the tortilla topped with Sassy Sauce. So yummy, and oh so sassy!

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Almonds, Chipotle Peppers, Garlic, Onions. This post has 2 comments.

Coconut Bacon

“Everything is better with bacon!” This is all you hear nowadays and Mr. Bacon has been used and possibly abused in almost every way imaginable…poor boy. On the other hand, I have to admit I am a vegetarian, but even I can appreciate the creative things that bacon has inspired. I mean, come on…I just saw a bacon weave taco on Facebook for pete’s sake! I use to eat the heck out of bacon when I was little. Growing up, my grandma would fry up a pound or two of extra crispy bacon on a saturday morning and I would snack on it all day until it was gone. Does a body good!

I have been a vegetarian now for over 15 years, and from time to time I still find my mouth watering a bit when I smell bacon! This is why it did not surprise me when the other day one of my veggie friends posted on Facebook that she was now eating bacon… THE GATEWAY MEAT TO ALL OF THE MEATS!! My first thought when I saw this post, was another one bites the dust…or the bacon in this case. Losing another veggie friend to the alluring ways of bacon, got me to thinking that there has to be something out there for vegetarians that is similar to bacon. I am not talking about that fake bacon you can find in the grocery store that is loaded with processed products. It was in my hunt that I stumbled upon coconut bacon. I had no idea what the heck a coconut bacon was, but I was intrigued. I found a handful or recipes and played around in the kitchen until I impressed some of my meat-eater friends. Heck Yes!

Ok, so hear me out. This is not going to turn a meat-eater into a vegetarian, but by golly this coconut bacon is super tasty. I am convinced that if I sprinkled this over a salad or swaddled it into a breakfast burrito, I might be able to fool a meat-eater or two. Be prepared for your house to smell like bacon for the rest of the afternoon, but really is that so bad??

Coconut Bacon Ingredients

Ingredients

2 TBS Bragg’s Amino Soy Sauce
1-1.5 TBS Liquid Smoke – I used the Hickory Flavor
1 TBS Pure Maple Syrup
1 Tsp Hungarian Smoked Paprika
3 1/2 C Large Flaked Unsweetened Coconut
Sea Salt for Sprinkling optional
Coconut Oil or Organic Cooking Spray for greasing the baking sheet

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix the first four ingredients in a small bowl making sure to break up any clumps of paprika. Your house will begin to smell like bacon at this point…

3. In a large bowl add coconut flakes, drizzle the bacon magic wet mixture over top of the coconut and gently toss making sure to coat each flake well.

Saucing your coconut

4. Using a slotted spoon, scoop seasoned coconut flakes and place a single layer of the coconut bacon magic onto lightly greased cookie sheets.

5. Sprinkle coconut flakes lightly with a bit of sea salt.

6. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Set the timer for intervals of 5 minutes and stir each time making sure to rearrange all pieces (the key is to stir during baking). You may even like to change the position of the sheets in the oven after the second interval, moving the top sheet to the bottom rack and vice versa. After the first 15 minutes, keep close and keep watch as the coconut bacon can burn very quickly at this point.

7. Remove when coconut has a nice browned and caramelized color. Let cool, it will get crispy as it cools.

8. Once completely cooled you can store leftovers in an air tight container and keep in the pantry for up to a week or two. If it softens a bit, re-crisp under the broiler for a few seconds, keeping an eye that it doesn’t burn.

9. Bloggy Friends… I would like you to meet Miss. Coconut Bacon…the sultry sister of Mr. Bacon. Try not to eat all of the coconut bacon while you are packaging it up, because you know you are going to want to sprinkle it all over a salad or something!

No go forth and make the heck out of the BLT that you have been craving 😉

Stay tuned for recipes for how I used Miss. Coconut Bacon on almost everything imaginable. 😉

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Coconut. This post has 2 comments.

Crock Pot French Onion Soup

I love french onion soup, but finding a vegetarian one or a good vegetarian one for that matter is next to impossible. So I decided that it was about time to share my recipe. As you can see, I am still on my soup kick, but I have also been craving the heck out of cheese… so I decided to whip up some vegetarian french onion soup. It was way too hot in my house to make soup, but it still seemed like a good idea to eat soup in the hot weather. I am not sure how this is logical, but I am just going to run with it. I usually make my french onion soup on the stove top, but I wanted to keep my house cool as a cucumber and decided to give this recipe a whirl in my crockpot.

French Onion Soup Ingredients

Ingredients

4 Medium Sweet Onions, thinly sliced
6 Garlic Cloves, minced
4 TBS Butter
2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar
2 TBS Brown Sugar
1 Can of Beer (I used Sierra Nevada Pale Ale)
64 oz Veggie Broth
2 TBS Fresh Thyme
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp Salt
French Bread
Gruyère or Provolone Cheese, sliced

Directions

Set your crock pot on high, then add onions, garlic, brown sugar, butter, salt and balsamic and mix until combined.
Getting the onions ready.
Cover and let cook for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are a bit caramely and brown on the edges. If your onions don’t caramelize in the crockpot, you might have to transfer them to the stove top to help them get there. This is the most important step, so don’t proceed until your onions are caramelized.
Add in beer (take a sip for yourself, you have been working hard), veggie stock, thyme, and pepper, then turn heat down to low, cover and cook for 6-8 hours. Note: I used a very low-sodium homemade veggie stock, so depending on the stock you use, add additional salt for flavor if desired before you transfer your soup into a bowl.
Beer makes everything better!
After the 6-8 hours your soup should look a little something like this…
Finished French Onion Soup
Before serving, cut french bread or a baguette into slices. Fill soup bowls to the top, then cover with slice of bread and a few slices of cheese. I like the cheese dripping over the side of the bowl so that it gets nice and crispy.
Set your broiler on high and place the soup bowls under the broiler until cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Be careful when serving as bowls will be hot!

Go forth and impress the heck out of your vegetarian friends while keeping your kitchen cool as a cucumber on a sweaty summer day. You are gonna need a cool kitchen because you will break a sweat while you are devouring this soup. 🙂

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Beer, Onions. This post has 10 comments.

Crispy Brussel Sprouts

Growing up I hated brussel sprouts! My Mom always made the frozen ones from the freezer section, that she boiled and they tasted like green mush. The only way that she could get me to eat them was by telling me that they were baby cabbages. For some odd reason I loved the idea of cabbages having babies for me to eat, even if I had to gag them down.

Anyway, I did not discover that I actually love fresh brussel sprouts until I went to an amazing French Restaurant near where we lived in San Diego called Bo-Beau. Their brussel sprout dish was all that people were talking about on Yelp, so even though I hated brussel sprouts I had to try them. The next day we strolled on over to Bo-Beau and ordered the talk of the town. What came out was a brussel sprout avalanche…flash fried baby cabbages, drizzled with a balsamic reduction and sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan. Pure Magic! I would eat these everyday if my waistline and my wallet could afford it. Instead, I try to recreate the magic that is happening at Bo-Beau whenever I can get my hands on some brussel sprouts. I continue to play around with them in my kitchen whenever they are in season, and I think that I finally have a recipe that I think is pretty darn tasty. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1.5 lbs Brussel Sprouts
3 TBS Good Olive Oil
3/4 Tsp Salt, I prefer Truffle Salt
1/2 Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut off the ends of the Brussels sprouts, cut them in half, and pull off any yellow outer leaves.
Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
Pour them on a sheet pan, face down and roast for 15-20 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan, some balsamic if you are feeling sassy and serve immediately (omit the parmesan to make this Paleo).

Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am!

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Brussel Sprouts. This post has 7 comments.

Veggie Chili

Ok, I know what you are thinking…It’s is like a bazillion degrees out, why in the heck is she posting a chili recipe!? Well, I am a fan of soup in any form no matter what time of year it is. Also what is better than chili on a hot sweaty day??? Veggie Chili dogs of course! So whip up a batch of this chili…eat some right after it is done, eat some a few days later, make some chili dogs and freeze the living daylights out of the rest for future enjoyment. The greatest thing about chili is that it always tastes better a few days after you make it and it freezes like a dream. I also love this recipe, because even your meat-eater friends will like it. I usually just whip up a batch of this stuff, let people eat the living crap out of it and then tell them after that it was vegetarian 😉

Veggie Chili Ingredients

Ingredients

1 TBS Olive Oil
1 Large White Onion, diced
1 Small Zucchini, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1/2 Jalapeno, diced and seeds removed
6 Cloves Garlic, diced
1 Bag of Quorn Grounds
1 28oz Can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes
1 28oz Can Muir Glen Crusted Tomatoes with Basil
1 Can Kidney Beans, drained
1 Can Pinto Beans, drained
2-4 Cups Veggie Broth…start with 2 cups and add more for a thinner chili
1tsp Salt
1tsp Pepper
1tsp Onion Powder
1.5 tsp Granulated Garlic
1 Can Tomato Paste
1/4 Dried Ghost Chili, minced *Secret Ingredient Alert* Ghost Chilies can pack a punch! If you can’t find dried ghost chilies or if you want to go lighter on the spice just substitute 1/2 tsp Chili Powder.

Directions

Chop all of the veggies.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the onion and saute until soft.
Once the onion is soft, add the garlic and all of the other veggies and saute for approx. 2 mins
When the veggies start to get tender, add the Quorn Grounds, 2 cans of crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, pinto beans, 2 cups of veggie broth (add more broth if you like it soupier), all of the spices and tomato paste.
Bring all of this to a boil and simmer it covered on low for 1 hour.
Once the chili is done simmering remove it from the heat and it let cool a bit. When the chili is cool enough to taste, taste it and then feel free to add more broth and adjust your seasoning. I usually add more salt and chili powder at this point.

Cooling Veggie Chili

If I am just eating this as is, I like to top my chili with green onion, freshly grated cheese and cilantro. If I am making veggie dogs, I use the Field Roast Frankfurters…
because they are the tastiest.

Freeze the rest or share with your friends. Enjoy!

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Jalapeno, Tomatoes. This post has no comments yet.

I am back from a very long hiatus that involved yoga teacher training, a career change, concerts, a couple of weddings, cocktails, traveling, some house guests and some much needed time spent frolicking on the beach. I am happy to be back and I am so excited to share all of the new recipes that I have been working on. While I get all of my ducks in a row, I thought that it would be fun to have a guest blogger, so I asked my wife Derika if she would mind sharing her famous cocktail with all of you.

Bloggy Friends, I would like you to meet Derika, my first guest blogger on glitterspice.com and I am sure it won’t be my last. We hope you enjoy her killer cocktail recipe… just in time for summer!

There’s a wonderful little revival of craft cocktails happening around the country where mixologists are using fresh ingredients, high quality alcohol and a good dose of innovation to wow the pallet. I’ve long dreamt of becoming a bartender and quite often channel a little Tom Cruise in the movie ‘Cocktail’ when mixing things up around the house for friends, though I still cannot catch bottles flying through the air. One libation I’ve come to crave is something we call a Ruby Ginger Drop. It’s refreshing, it’s alcoholic and it makes me want to sit in the sunshine all afternoon so it’s become a staple in our household.

Ruby Ginger Drop Ingredients

Ingredients for 2 servings are as follows:

Juice from 2 freshly-squeezed, large ruby grapefruits
3oz ginger vodka (Yazi is a great brand)
1oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur (if you haven’t tried it, be prepared to fall in love)
Splash of bitters (you can get creative here as there are so many options out there these days)
Splash of club soda
Shavings of fresh ginger

Squeezin’ the Grapefruits

Directions

Mix the first four ingredients, shake and strain into a fancy/funky glass (glassware can be just as important as the ingredients in presentation) filled with ice. Add a splash of club soda and garnish with some shaved ginger and a ruby grapefruit wedge. I highly recommend you be near a balcony or patio for maximum enjoyment. Your friends may never leave.

Cheers,

Derika

Derika and her Ruby Ginger Drop

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Ginger, Grapefruit. This post has 5 comments.

Crispy Tofu

The Double D’s – SD to NYC Road Trip

Garlicky Kale Caesar

Veggie Bowl-Rito

Sassy Sauce aka Chipotle Almond Sauce

Coconut Bacon

Crock Pot French Onion Soup

Crispy Brussel Sprouts

Veggie Chili

Ruby Ginger Drop

Ingredients for 2 servings are as follows:

Directions

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