Corn Cilantro Pepian by HLife Photography
Last month, I introduced you to a twist on a Peruvian dish that we called Cilantro Brown Rice. Today, I want to continue on the “in my country” theme and share another Peruvian dish with a vegan twist: Pepian. I was introduced to this dish at my grandma’s house in Peru and it has been delicious every time there and after. I received plenty of organic corn in my last CSA box, so it was a perfect excuse to make pepian myself. At my grandma’s house they used to ask us, “do you want it white or green?”. Which meant with or without cilantro, and of course we would reply, “GREEN GREEN!!” This past month’s cilantro has been exceptional in smell and taste so, cilantro pepian it is! The original Peruvian pepian recipe is made with pork or beef, so instead I used tempeh (fermented soy bean). This is a quick and simple dish that always makes everyone say: “YUMMMM!” Read More…
Watermelon Cherry Drink by HLife Photography
In the summer, the human body requires higher quantities of water. But nowadays, most of the pure water we drink is so acidic that it practically goes through our bodies without nourishing our cells. One of the ways to nourish our cells with H2O properties, along with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, is by consuming alkaline fruits that have a high water content. Watermelon happens to be both in season and a high-water content (very alkaline) fruit. Cherries are also in season, and featured in our July’s HReport as an aid for insomnia. So, here’s our Rojo Rejuv for you, a quick drink with a whole lot of health benefits. Cheers! Read More…
Cilantro Brown Rice by HLife Photography
This is veganized version of a very popular Peruvian dish Maryl and I grew up with, called Arroz Con Pollo (”Rice and Chicken”). This version is basically a rice-no-chicken dish. We usually replace the chicken part of the Peruvian dish by serving it with a homemade mixed herb/tandoori tofu, but the rice is so delicious on its own that you can just snack on it solo. My favorite way to eat it is to pair it up with a very limey dark green salad with lots of chopped red onion. The flavor of the mix of the rice, lime, and red onion is what we call “Peru.” Read More…
Mint Veggie Touiller by HLife Photography
In my latest CSA (Farm Fresh To You) box I received a whole bunch of zucchinis. Inspiration quickly took over me and I thought: Ratatouille. The thing about being me is that I don’t follow recipes and more then anything I love recreating and inventing new ones based on inspiring old recipes. I just go with the flow of my excitement for flavor, the variety that the plant kingdom has to offer, and I let my creativity run the rest of my culinary and nutritional experience. So, obviously ratatouille didn’t happen, BUT, even better (for me), Mint Veggie Touiller did. Enjoy. Read More…
Summer Salad by HLife Photography
Summer time means beach time, high water-content fruits, lots of alkaline/ionized H2O, and, for sure, even more consumption of DELICIOUS salads!!! This has been my basic summer salad, with some variations here and there. It’s easy to make, taste-alicious, simple and nutrish, so much so that I even take this salad on the go, and savor every bite where ever I am. Read More…
Quinoa Tomato Tartar by HLife Photography
In the spring and summer, our bodies tend to asks us for more liquids, refreshing foods and lighter meals. One afternoon, I combined all these body requests into one and came up with this tasty appetizer. Although classified as a starter, to me it was more like a hearty snack, because it nourished my body so much that I didn’t feel like eating anything else for at least two more hours. This is my kind of snack: Quick to make, cell-nourishing, borderline appetizer/teaser, no sugar, no dairy, no wheat, obviously plant-based, not dehydrated, and beautiful to look at. Yes, please. Read More…
Zucchini Pappardelle by HLife Photography
Any excuse to re-invent an Italian or Peruvian dish, I’m totally there. Noodles are not limited to pasta dishes, as in our creative minds there are no limits. As we mentioned in our post Who Are You?, the only limits that exist are the ones we create and agree to in our mind. So, yes, noodles can be made fresh from any vegetable that you want to make look like a noodle. This dish was inspired by the desire to beauty-fy the lovely zucchini even more, make it sexy, healthy, tasty, and it was also born of the need and desire for a raw veggie noodle. White or navy beans are so creamy and mild in flavor that they became the perfect candidate for a dairy-free Alfredo sauce version. Read More…
H-Thai Carbonara by HLife Photography
My two fave foods are Italian and Thai. With this dish, they got married in my kitchen – with a Peruvian quinoa theme – and lived happily ever after, in my tummy (until digestion do them part). Quinoa is gluten free, the only whole grain with complete protein, has been featured as an HFood and it comes from my birth country of Peru. I created this recipe with an Italian carbonara intention and a Peruvian flavored palate, then, all of a sudden the thought of Thai food sprouted in my mind. Speaking of sprouted, I used sprouted tofu as our “carbonara egg replacer” part. Soy is not a staple or frequently consumed food in my home, but when we do eat it, whether at home or out, it has to be organic, and in its simple forms like tofu, tempeh or miso. I do not rely on it as my main protein source, but it is present in my plant-based diet in very low and balanced doses. We also make our own nut milks at home, usually from almonds and Brazil nuts, instead of drinking soy milk and we don’t consume highly processed soy foods, so, we don’t have to worry about accumulating large amounts of soy in our diet. Health and nutrition is all about being knowledgeable of how and why you eat certain things. You can read more about the pros and cons of soy in our recent three part allergens “free” series. Read More…
Almond Curry Nori Snacks by HLife Photography
Yes, we all eat three times a day…hopefully. But in between those meals, we all want a snack (I know I do!) Clients were always asking me for healthy snack options and so was (and still is) my husband, so here’s a good choice. As all of you HLifers (those of you reading and living the HLife) probably already know, we are big fans of whole sea veggies. Maryl and I like nori very much (she went for a three-day period of eating nothing but variations of homemade vegan sushi). I love to reinvent the nori wheel, so I took this amazing sea vegetable and ran with it. Read More…
Lentils by HLife Photography
If you are looking for a legume that you don’t have to soak and that cooks super quickly, the amazing lentil is your guy. Legumes are delicious and very high in protein, and they are a life saver when you forgot to soak beans the night before and need to make something nutritious and fast. The trick to their ultimate taste is knowing with what spice and veggies to cook them. Growing up in Lima, Peru (now a world renown culinary destination), I was exposed to a variety of flavorful experiences (we have purple potatoes and endless spices in the forms of peppers that we call “ajis”- so much diversity!), most of which were homemade. This allowed us to enjoy various dishes that included some type of legume (there was always a “menestra del dia” (legume of the day). Because of this, we HLifers are big fans of – and have very high standards for – the flavors of beans/legumes. Lentils just happen to be the ones that transport me back to grandmas house, and so I set out to share this memorable menestra with you. Read More…
