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Three Marinades to Get You Grilling

Labor Day weekend hails the end of summer and is considered by many Americans to be the last grilling weekend of the season. This coming weekend, we recommend you polish off the summer in style with one of the tasty marinades  below. These have been adapted from the June 2008 issue of Real Simple Magazine.

All recipes below will marinade 2 pounds of meat, seafood or veggies. To prepare, mix all ingredients in a baking dish or sealable glassware and marinate for 20 minutes to overnight, turning a few times to ensure proper soaking of all surfaces. The exception to this is all forms of seafood – it should not be marinated more than 15 minutes as the acid in marinades break down the delicate tissue quickly and you will be left with mushy fish.

Photo by JaBB|Flickr Creative Commons
Photo by JaBB|Flickr Creative Commons

 

Southwest Marinade

  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup avocado or grapeseed oil (these withstand the high heat of the grill better than EVOO)
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt (VIBRANCE is a fan of Celtic Sea Salt)

Best as a marinade for chicken, flank steak, pork chops, bell peppers, corn on the cob and summer squashes.

Ginger Sesame Marinade

  • 1/4 cup coconut aminos (or tamari if you can tolerate soy)
  • 1 tbsp. sugar free fish sauce  (Omit if using tamari)
  • 1 tbsp. grated ginger
  • 1 tbsp. sesame oil
  • 2 scallions,thinly sliced
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

Delicious with scallops, shrimp, salmon, pork tenderloin, London Broil, mushrooms, and eggplant.

Lemon Rosemary Marinade

  • 1/3 cup avocado oil
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced
  • 6 sprigs fresh rosemary stolen from your neighbor’s yard (it taste’s better that way!)
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Delightful with chicken (one-in), boneless leg of lamb, shrimp, bass, lamb chops, zucchini, summer squashes, asparagus, shallots and leeks.

 

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Ultra Tasty Coconut Ginger Rice Pudding

This rice pudding recipe is gluten-free, soy-free, AND vegan, so you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who won’t enjoy it! Made from coconut milk, this warming winter treat provides ample medium-chain triglycerides which are believed to provide energy for athletes and be a fat source that is less likely to be stashed away by the body for future use. Coconut is popular in Ayurvedic medicine and cooking, and is well known for its antimicrobial properties and its ability to balance fats in the bloodstream. I created this recipe in response to having a delicious coconut-ginger tapioca pudding at my local health food store earlier this week.

  • 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • water
  • 2 cups coconut milk (or 1 can + 2 oz. water or non-dairy milk alternative)
  • 1-2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup date sugar (or sucanat)
  • 1/4 cup candied ginger bits

Place rice in a small saucepan with the cinnamon stick and add water until just covered. Bring rice to a boil and turn heat down to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick.

Add coconut milk, vanilla, and date sugar and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add candied ginger and simmer 15-20 minutes longer, until most of liquid is absorbed. Be sure to turn heat off when some liquid remains, as it will thicken upon cooling.

Serve warm or cold, and garnish with shredded coconut if desired.

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Cinnamon Walnut Rice Pudding

This rice pudding is a perfect cozy breakfast or dessert on a cool day. You can also make this in the rice cooker and have it available to you – piping hot – for a few mornings!

2 cups water
1 cup brown rice, rinsed
1 1/4 cups rice or almond milk, or other non-dairy milk of choice
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup brown rice syrup or maple syrup
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/8 t. ground nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, place the water, and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 35 minutes or until all of the water has been absorbed. Add the remaining ingredients, stir well to combine, and continue to cook the mixture over low heat until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and place the pudding in the refrigerator to chill. Top individual servings with a little additional cinnamon before serving, if desired.

Serves 3-4

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Detox Friendly Pesto

This vegan pesto was a great hit last night! The miso is a fine substitute for cheese; most could not even tell the difference!

1 cup pinenuts (use equal parts pumpkin and sunflower seeds for nut allergies)

1/2 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil

4-5 cloves garlic

3 tbsp. chickpea miso (or mild yellow miso if you are not detoxing or soy-sensitive)

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice (1/2 – 1 lemon)

2 bunches fresh basil

Tear basil leaves from stem. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Thin with additional lemon juice, if desired.

Toss with spaghetti squash, use to flavor soups, or add onto sandwiches and pastas.

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RECIPE: Peter's Apricot Pineapple Pico de Gallo

I met Peter the day after Christmas at The Market in Anacortes, WA. He was passing out samples of this salsa with a cashew-crusted chicken breast seasoned with his personal spice blend. Chef Peter had a bad experience with a computer once — so bad that he no longer has one, nor a website. So I cannot properly direct you to Chef Peter, his spices, or other recipes of his, but I can share with you a smashing spicy, fruity pico de gallo recipe that would pair well not only with cashew-crusted chicken but grilled whitefish (halibut! mahi-mahi!) or tossed in grilled or steamed shrimp. You may also wish to fold it into a quesadilla or place a spoon of it atop brie and crackers for New Year’s hor d’oeuvres.

  • 1 cup dried, unsulfured apricots
  • 1 fresh pineapple – slightly unripe (rock hard – no soft spots)
  • 2 Braeburn apples, peeled and cored
  • 1 red pepper, cored and seeded
  • 4 jalapenos, stems, seed, and veins removed (keep veins for a little more heat, seeds for extra heat)
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
  • 4 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 pinch salt

Peel and core pineapple. Dice all produce into tiny pieces. Mix with lime, honey and salt. Refrigerate until chilled and stir in cilantro just before serving.

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Recipe: Hoppin’ John

Traditionally, Hoppin’ John uses ham hocks or bacon to add a smoky flavor to nutrient-rich beans. In lieu of this, I’ve used chipotle powder to add spiciness and smokiness to this traditional Southern New Year dish. Eaten annually on the first day of the New Year, Hoppin’ John is supposed to ensure good luck. It certainly worked for me last year!

  • 6 scallions
  • 1 T coconut oil
  • 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
  • 1 small green pepper, diced
  • 1 small bunch collard greens or kale, chopped
  • 1.5 cup dried black eyed peas, cooked (or 2 x 10 oz package frozen black eyed peas, thawed and rinsed or 2-15 oz can, thoroughly rinsed)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp. thyme
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/2 t black pepper
  • 1 tsp. chipotle powder
  • 1 T chopped garlic
  • 12 fl oz vegetarian broth or bean liquid

To cook dried peas, place in a small soup pot and cover with water – about 2″ over bean line. Soak overnight, drain, rinse, and cover with water again. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmering until tender, about 2 hours. Drain.

Trim scallions. Remove the dark green tops and set aside. Cut the white and light green sections into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the carrot and stir well to coat with oil. Add the white and light green sections of the scallions and the celery, reduce heat to low and saute for 2 minutes. Add the kale and bell peppers and saute for about 3 minutes or until the carrot begins to brown. Add the black-eyed peas and stir well. Saute for 1 minute. Add the bay leaf, salt, black pepper, chipotle, garlic and broth. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the liquid is almost completely absorbed – there should still be about 1/3 cup sauce.

Thinly slice the dark green scallion tops while the mixture simmers. Then stir in half the scallion greens. Ladle the hoppin’ john over a bed of cooked rice and sprinkle with remaining scallion greens.

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RECIPE: Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

t’s really criminal how the brain tortures us. My chocolate cravings have given way to macaroni and cheese. I did not grow up on the “good stuff”, but rather the boxed Kraft brand that is Cheeto-orange and probably stains one’s intestines.
Regardless, I have been wanting it all – boxed mac and cheese, frozen mac and cheese so I can put it in the oven and gnaw on the crispy burnt edges, and the ultra-greasy, mega-cheesy variety in the Whole Foods hot bar that, until now, looked positively disgusting (I’m not a fan of greasy food).

I had forgotten about the recipe from my vegan days for a cheese sauce until a new review for it was posted on Recipezaar. Now that it has come across my path again, I see rice elbow noodles and carrots in my future….

Shockingly Good Vegan Mac and Cheese Sauce

I obtained this recipe from someone named Tracy over the vast Internet, at a website I cannot recall since I was doing a search through many at the time. Combining the below ingredients sounds wretched, but it was shockingly good! Could this be Kraft’s secret?

6 servings

time to make 15 min 10 min prep

2 cups water
1/3 cup carrots, peeled and cooked
1/3 cup white flour (I used half of that amount of cornstarch so that it would be gluten free)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt

  1. Blend all ingredients together in a Vitamix or blender.
  2. Pour into pan and stir until boils and thickens.
  3. Take off heat and pour into rice noodles, over broccoli or potatoes, etc.