February 1, 2015 marks the end of the 13th month that I've been totally plant based or Vegan. That happens to be my lucky number. I was born in Detroit, area code 313, at 10:13 weighing 7 lbs 13 oz with a home address of 13740. Needless to say, I had high hopes for this month and was not disappointed.
At lunch time today, I looked around and found the leftover stewed veggies that I made last night and these HUGE collard green leaves. My friend Joel mentioned 2 days ago that raw collard greens are really good to use as a wrap and here I was with a bunch of them staring at me! Last time I cooked them like a cabbage roll so I figured I might as well give it a try, right?
So here's what I put in the stewed veggies:
baby spinach, kale, fresh cilantro, carrots, celery, an onion, a sweet red pepper, chopped dates, garlic, white pepper, paprika, fresh tomatoes, snap peas, portobello mushrooms and stir cooked them in 4 cups of water with 2 cups of the vegetable broth I saved from the stewed veggies I made the other night. Again I strained the veggies and saved the broth.
Then I took one cup of quinoa, 1/2 tsp cumin and 2 cups of water, brought it to a boil, reduced the heat to simmer for 15 minutes covered and set it aside to cool.
Equal parts of quinoa and veggies were mashed together. Take the washed collard green, cut off the hard stalks and spread them out flat on the counter. Use enough of the mixture to cover half a leaf; about the size of a hamburger. I used spicy mustard and jalapeno peppers to give it some zing and then rolled them up. Add some fresh berries or other fruit and presto! Lunch!
No knife required. Its gluten free and nut free so no excuses! Very good end to my 13th plant based month! Here's to the next 13!
Super Bowl Sunday! What can I make for snacks? I'll have to get back to you on that.
