The Best Spicy Stir Fry

Leslie's Special New Stir-Fry
Serves 3 hungry people (probably 4)

Marinade:
5T tamari (or soy sauce)
2T rice vinegar
juice of 1 lime
1.5t red curry paste (this is the part that gives it spice and ties the recipe together)*red curry paste ingredients: red chili, garlic, lemongrass, thai ginger, salt, onion, kaftir lime, coriander, pepper*
2t agave nectar
1t fresh ginger, grated, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1T olive oil (optional)

Stir-Fry:
1/2c edamame
1c thin sliced bell peppers
1/4t red pepper flakes
14oz rice noodles
2-3 carrots, peeled, cut
1/2 small onion, cut
1t arrowroot
2 more cloves garlic, minced
10oz firm tofu cut into triangles

Method: In a container with a lid, combine marinade ingredients and place pressed and cut tofu in the container. Let sit for at least an hour, shaking or stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, fill a saucepot with water and bring to a boil. Take off the heat and add rice noodles. Soak for 10 minutes then rinse and drain with cold water. Set aside for later.

Heat a wok with olive oil and add stir-fry ingredients, minus the arrowroot. Cook on med-high for a few minutes and then add the tofu. Keep the marinade in the container and add the arrowroot, stirring to dissolve. Add arrowroot-marinade mix to the wok and heat until it is a thicker sauce and veggies are cooked and heated through. Serve over rice noodles or quinoa.

Quinoa Lentil Patties

Lentil Quinoa Patties
Ingredients are as follows (but not limited to).
I also didn't really measure!
red lentils, cooked
*about 1cquinoa, cooked with lentils because I'm lazy sometimes *
about 3/4c olive oil *about two teaspoons total and just used for saute
garlic *2 cloves and I roasted it first
raw cashews *about a handful.
red, yellow and green bell peppers *about 1/2c minced
one jalepeno, seeded
onion
fresh parsley *about a tablespoon or so
carrots *1.5 diced
celery *just one stalk, diced
hoisin sauce *about 2 tablespoons
rice vinegar *about 2 tablespoons
sea salt *to taste (I used about a teaspoon, but would have liked more)
ground black pepper, to taste
chili flakes *a pinch
tahini *2 tablespoons
whole wheat breadcrumbs for the outside
spelt flour ***note: I ended up using this because I needed a binder. I probably added about 3 tablespoons, 2 more than I wanted to.
Overall, these patties were great. It took me almost 2 hours total but that is because I let the mixture chill in the fridge for a while so it could 1: cool down, 2: bind together better, 3: get me out of the kitchen for a while.

Chickpea and Bulghar Patties

Bulghar and Chickpea Patties
List of ingredients (no order)
bulgar (cooked first, then cooled)
chickpeas (same process, but then I put these and veggies in the food processor)
carrots
fresh Italian parsley
garlic (a shitload)
olive oil (to fry, just a tad)
red onion
tamari
ground black pepper
sea salt
ground corriander
cumin, ground
paprika
fresh grated turmeric (my fingers and cutting board is yellow. good thing the counter already is)red chili flakes
cayenne
baking powder (a pinch)
fresh lemon juice
I wanted to put tahini in these as a binder, but I was all out. I wanted to reserve it for the sauce. With that said, use a lot of tahini.

Sweet Dinner Pancakes (not diner)

Sweet Dinner Pancakes
2c flour (whole wheat pastry)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder (non aluminum)
2 c. soymilk (if you use unsweetened it won't stick)
2 T. oil
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg (or less)
pinch of sea sal
t1 T. flax seed, ground
choice of fruit. Handful of each.

Method: Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, flax seed, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Add milk and oil. Stir. Add fruit. Stir, but don't over do it. Heat oil on a skillet. Pour batter by the spoonful and flip over when bubbly and golden underneath. Serve with blueberry syrup (1:1 ratios).

Organic Chili slash Quinoa Tacos

Leslie's Awesome Organic Chili Recipe
1T olive oil
1 small yellow onion
5 cloves garlic
1t sea salt
black pepper to taste
1t cumin
2t cayenne (could use more!)
1t paprika
1t oregano
1 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper (that's what I had, but use a whole one if you have it)
32 oz canned fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 habanero pepper
1 jalepeno pepper
2 cans black beans
1 can kidney beans
1c frozen corn
handful of chopped fresh cilantro

Method: First heat the oil and add the onions, garlic and spices. Cook it until the onions are clear and the spices fill up your house with awesomeness. Toss in the rest of the ingredients (except for some of the cilantro), bring them to a boil and then reduce to simmer until it is thick (about 30 minutes).
While that is simmering it's a good idea to make the quinoa or other grain. Add the remaining cilantro towards the end of cooking or toss it on top of each individual serving. Taste the chili to make sure it's how you like, then do what you want with it.

Special Pesto

Leslie's Special Pesto Recipe
(it's special because you can use it with pasta, pizza, sandwiches, dip, filling and probably more)

1/4c. walnuts or almonds
1/2c. pinenuts
3 cups packed basil leaves, no stems
2-3 large cloves crushed garlic
1t. sea salt
dash of black pepper
1/3c. olive oil
1/4-1/3c. nutritional yeast flakes
2t. lemon juice

Blend everything except the oil and the nutritional yeast in a blender or food processor. When that all starts to get pureed (or too stiff your blender can't handle it), start to pour the olive oil while blending. Add the nutritional yeast and blend a bit more. Makes about 2 cups.(note: I love pesto with walnuts, pinenuts and almonds. Use all of them, just one, or in their own combos, these raw nuts really tie the pesto together. Feel free to experiment with variety.)

Lentil Veggie Unwraps

Lentil Veggie Wraps
red lentils, cooked
whole wheat tortillas (one per person, unless super-hungry)
sesame oil *(mine wasn't toasted)
rice vinegar
sea salt, iodized
ground black pepper
carrots
romaine lettuce, super-crispy-stem-parts removed*
long, thin cucumber slices
jalepeno pepper*
and leftover red lentil hummus* (garbanzos, red lentils, spanish paprika, garlic, cumin, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt)
cilantro

Note: all veggies were raw.
The only thing cooked was lentils, rice and previously garbanzos (for the hummus).

Pile together. Serve wrapped or unwrapped. Serve with some sort of vinegarrete or tahini sauce or dressing.

Leslie's Sloppy Lenties

Leslie's Version of Sloppy Lenties... serves a lot (freezes very well)
Ingredients:
1.5 c. rinsed and drained red lentils
3c. water
2c. tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes or whatever you want
1 T. tamari (soy sauce)
3-4 carrots, chopped
1 bell pepper of choice
a few big handfuls of kale, chopped
about 1/2 or 1 whole onion, chopped
pinch of chili flakes
1t. dried basil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
habenero pepper (if you feel like it)

Method: Combine dried lentils, water, tomato sauce, tamari and bring to a boil.

While waiting, chop (food processor is best to get real small) the veggies and mix together. Add to pot of lentils. Add chili flakes and basil and whatever else you feel like. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Stir every once in a while. Enjoy with a spoon or some bread (or anything else good you can think of, like a bread bowl, see below).