This past weekend was unreal! It was such a solid group of individuals, all ready and willing to create and foster connections to each other and the natural surroundings. One of the best parts of attending a yoga retreat is knowing that you are going to be fed some amazing food and, we don't mean to brag, but the food this past weekend was pretty damn good!
Our resident Marketing & Brand Manager, Rebecca Middlebrook, also happens to be an enthusiastic home cook and was tasked with curating and executing the menu for the weekend (with help from Lexie Heron, of course). To easily accommodate allergies and dietary preferences, she decided to make everything vegan and gluten-free. The best part? We heard from some of the hardcore meat-atarians that they didn't even miss the meat!
Below are Rebecca's recipes for three of the meals that were made. These are all staple menu items in her house, and hopefully soon to be in your home.
Buddha Bowl with Miso Gravy
Bowls are great because they can use up so many leftovers from the fridge. At the retreat, we used quinoa as a base and had spinach, purple cabbage, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes and avocado. The real star of the bowl was the miso gravy which is perfect for bowls or even as a dip for veggies or meat (like chicken).
In a blender, puree together:
1/4 cup miso paste
2 tablespoons diced shallots
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
The sauce is meant to be fairly thick, but you can add more olive oil as you mix to adjust the flavour and viscosity. Taste as you go and add more/less of items as desired.
Here's a link to the original recipe.
Chipotle Southwest Spiced Tacos
We love spicy food, and chipotles in adobo sauce are a great way to add a smokey heat that builds as you eat. If you do not like spice, just leave this particular ingredient out.
This recipe makes enough for four people eating two tacos each
Seasoning
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper chili flakes
Filling
1 sweet potato, diced
1 can unsalted black beans
1 chipotle in adobo pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Toppings
Tomatoes, diced
Avocado, mashed with lime juice and salt
Fresh cilantro
Mix the seasoning first – you may not use it all, but save it for a breakfast hash.
Cut the tomatoes, cilantro and prep the avocado.
Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the sweet potatoes and cook them until they are half done. Drain the can of black beans and rinse with water until the water runs clear. Add the beans, garlic, and chipotle in adobo to the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with at least half the seasoning. It should look like an excessive amount of spice, but that's exactly what you want. Finish cooking the sweet potatoes and warming the beans, adding more seasoning when you do the obligatory taste-test.
Assemble the taco and eat!
We used corn tortillas from Los Chilitos Taqueria, but the ones at Molcajete in the Crossroads Farmers Market are pretty good. You could also use flour tortillas or even just make a lettuce wrap.
Asian Noodle Stir-Fry
Asian cuisine is so forgiving because once you have the basic ingredients, you can play around with different combinations and amounts, adjusting based on whether you're in the mood for more garlic, sesame oil, or something sweeter. The recipe below originally called for Oyster sauce (not vegan) so we just removed it and it tasted just fine! Once all these ingredients were mixed, we added olive oil to cut down the saltiness and get the consistency we wanted.
This recipe makes 4 servings
Veggies
1/4 yellow onion, sliced
Bag of mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup zucchini, sliced and quartered
1/4 bunch cilantro
These veggie amounts are completely random. I just cut up a bunch of vegetables until I question whether it's an excessive amount. It always ends up being exactly how much I need.
Sauce
1/3 cup soya sauce (we used VH soya sauce, which is gluten free)
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sambal oelek
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger*
1 teaspoon sesame oil
olive oil
*To keep ginger on hand, freeze it and when it's needed in a recipe you cut the skin off and grate the amount you want, then put it back in the freezer
Mix together all the sauce ingredients, adjusting amounts to satisfy your taste buds. It will be very salty, but upping the olive oil will help with that.
In a pan, heat some oil and cook the mushrooms and onions until they are 3/4 done. Add the carrots, red peppers, and about 1/4 cup of the sauce. You'll add the zucchini at the very end of the cooking process.
Depending on the type of noodles you have, cook those accordingly. A favourite of ours is rice noodles, or if you're not vegan, egg noodles.
Mix everything together, topping with a bit more sauce and some cilantro.
Enjoy!
Here's a link to the recipe that inspired this dish.