The Impact We Have in the World....

The Impact We Have in the World....

Our actions have an impact throughout the web of life. "The toilet paper on your grocery store shelves may have a direct impact on the 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. Not all tissue and paper towels are made from responsible sources."

So, I had found the picture and the 3 sentences on Pinterest months ago. Recently, I posted it on The Compassionate Vegan facebook page and someone asked about what companies are socially responsible. It got me thinking about some may not know about the companies or even realize that we have an impact with the items we purchase every day. The link below will help you find great info to help make a more compassionate choice.
http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/gtissue.asp

Lau Lau~ With a Twist

Lau Lau~ With a Twist
Vegan; 30 minutes; Gluten Free

The majority of time these rolls are filled with pork and fish, here I used a filling with split peas and sweet potato. A filling and tasty way to get more collard greens in your diet (which are a super green), hope you enjoy these rolls...


8 large whole collard leaves
1 medium sweet potato, unpeeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup of green and yellow split peas, soaked for 8 hours **Note: Soak the split peas before going to work or early in the day
1/2 cup of pearl barley or quinoa
1/2 cup of coconut milk
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika, or a few drops of liquid smoke

1. I used a rice maker filled with 2 cups water to cook the split peas, pearl barely and steam the sweet potatoes. If not using a rice maker fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the soaked split peas, pearl barley and cook till tender. Steam the sweet potatoes for 8 minutes.

2. Fill a large pot with 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Drop collard leaves in water one leaf at a time, and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until slightly soft.

3. In a medium skillet over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic till fragrant. Add sweet potatoes, cooked split peas and pearl barley or quinoa, coconut milk, crushed red pepper, and paprika or liquid smoke. Simmer, letting all of the flavors come together for 5 minutes or until liquid is gone.

4. Lay 1 collard leaf on work surface, with steam pointing away from you. Spoon 1/4 cup of filling 2 inches from bottom of collard leaf. Fold bottom edge of collard leaf over filling, fold in sides, and roll away from you; rolling as tight as you can. Serve with Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce for an extra kick....

Hominy Quesadillas with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

Hominy Quesadillas with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa
Vegan; Serves 8; 30 minutes or fewer

Welcome summer with this light tasty meal. Letting the grill and the food processor do a lot of the work, makes this a super easy meal to prepare on a weeknight. I soaked cashews in the morning, before going to work and was able to make a cashew cream to take place of the goat cheese that the original recipe from Vegetarian Times called for.

3 large or a combination of small and medium equal to 1/2 cup, husked and halved
1 large poblano chile, halved lengthwise, stemmed and seeded (I used 1 1/2 smaller poblano chiles)
1/2 onion cut into chunks
1 Tbs. lime juice, plus extra to cut into lime wedges for serving (about 3 limes total)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup cooked hominy or canned hominy, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked pinto beans or canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
8 flour tortillas (I used green chile flour tortillas)
1/2 cup cashew cream
1/2 cup pepper jack daiya cheese
hot sauce

1. Preheat over medium heat, you may have to coat the grill grate or the grill pan with cooking spray. We didn't and didn't lose any veggies...

2 Coat tomatillos, poblano, and onion chunks with cooking spray. Grill for 10 minutes or until charred.

3. Pulse grilled onion chunks and tomatillos to coarse puree in a mini food processor. Add poblano and lime juice; blend until poblano is chopped. Transfer to bowl, and stir in cilantro.

4. Pulse hominy, pinto beans, and 2 Tbs. of tomatillo mixture in food processor until just beginning to stick together.

5. Press one-quarter hominy mixture over half of each tortilla. Add cashew cream and sprinkle pepper jack daiya cheese and fold tortillas in half. Grill quesadillas for 6 minutes or until filling is heat through, turning once. Let stand for about 2 minutes and serve with hot sauce.

Creamy Avocado Pasta "Sauce"

Creamy Avocado Pasta "Sauce"
Vegan; Gluten Free; Prep 10 minutes; Serves 4

Well, the first time I made this it was a tad too chunky... I made it again, last night, with a MUCH creamier texture. Here is the adapted version of the sauce recipe from Oh She Glows....

2 medium sized ripe avocado, pitted
1 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
2-3 garlic cloves, to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup of fresh mint
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Crushed red pepper to taste

1. Place all of the ingredients in food processor and process until smooth and creamy.

2. Serve with your favorite pasta.