wow, we must all be getting skinny

Portlandish Thanksgiving

Eric, Stephen, and I just had a very awesome Veggie thanksgiving. Check it out! Nom Nom Nom...

http://entirelyuntrue.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/thanky-fest/

Coconut Brown Rice with Sweet Potato (pan)Cakes

Yikes, I should buy a plate that's not so yellow/green. I can't think of a more uncomplimentary food color pairing...maybe brown or taupe would be worse.

I made this to fulfill my craving for both rice and sweet potatoes, and overall it was a pretty starchy meal - but that wasn't a bad thing. Maybe the sweet potato pancakes need some tweaking, but I kind of enjoyed their ambiguous texture. They were still mushy, but they had a nice pan-friend crust on the outside. Also, the portions are super small since I'm cooking for myself - but it's a enough for leftovers. Doubled the quantity is good for 3-4 people.

Coconut Brown Rice

1 cup short grain brown rice

8 oz can coconut milk

1/2 cup water

1 small onion

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into a couple pieces

1 tsp salt

1 tsp curry powder

Sweet Potato (pan)Cakes

1 med. sweet potato

1/2 red onion, diced small

3 tbl flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp curry powder

Cook onion in a pot with some oil, once translucent add the ginger and curry. After a couple minutes, add the rice and liquid (coconut milk and water). The ratio I used was 1:1.5, rice to liquid. Cover and bring to a boil, stirring to make sure you don't crusties on the bottom. Once it boils, bring to a simmer and cover making sure you keep stirring every once in a while. This should take about 30 minutes.

While your rice is cooking, cook the sweet potato. I used the microwave for convenience sake - which only takes 4 minutes. Peel your potato, and mash it. Adding all the ingredient and fry those babies up in little cakes! Super easy - but you may find the batter a bit finicky and sticky. I think next time I'll actually try and make it like a pancake by adding more liquid. Also, I would love to try this out with chickpea flour. Mmmm...

My Vegan Mac and "Cheeze"

Mike and I have been making this pretty much weekly here in Philly. I think we're planning on making a baked version of this for vegan thanksgiving. Sorry about the low quality picture it was taken in photo-booth. Also I ate half of it before I took the picture, my bad. The ginger really adds a good bite to it, I definitely recommend experimenting with a ginger-garlic mixture in your fake cheezes it gives it a cool sharpness. This dish should be enjoyed while listening to this.

Get a pot of salted water going for your pasta. I'm going to trust your ability to cook a bag of pasta without putting it in the recipe. By the time you're done cooking the pasta you're sauce should be done.

Sauce

Add to your food processor in this order:

3/4 cup raw cashews

1/2 block tofu

1/2 cup soymilk

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

water until it's the consistency of ketchup (Hunts not Heinz, it's more watery)

Over low heat simmer:

1 1/2 inches of ginger, minced

4 cloves garlic

1 onion, diced

after 3-4 minutes add:

1 tsp Turmeric

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp paprika

1 tbsp soy sauce

3 tomatoes, sliced

1 bunch of kale, chopped finely

cook until the kale cooks down a bit

Dump the food processor mixture in with the rest of the stuff and add Lawry's seasoned salt to taste. Then mix in your completed pasta and squeeze the juice of one or two lemons on top and mix again.

Enjoy!

Curried Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber Relish

So if you guys read Vegan Dad, this will look slightly familiar. This is loosely loosely based off of his recipe. I had to make several adjustments, and the result probably doesn't taste anything like the original recipe. I can't even remember what went in the Vegan Dad's chickpea cakes. These turned out pretty good, and I don't know if you can tell but they turned out a bit like fritters. I used flour in this recipe, creating a real thick batter consistency with the smashed chickpeas. I was a bit uncertain, but it turned out pretty tasty.

Chickpea Cakes

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 tbl soy sauce

1 tbl chili garlic sauce

1 tsp panang curry powder

1/2 tsp paprika (I am in Hungary after all!)

1 med. shallot, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

3 tbl flour

enough water to get a THICK batter consistency - so not too much

Cucumber Relish

1/2 cucumber, diced

1/2 small red pepper, diced

1 shallot

2 tsp white vinegar

1-2 tsp sugar (or any sweetener)

The batter is easy, you just want to smash the chickpeas - but not necessarily make them into pulp. Dump all the ingredients in and taste as you go along, adjusting for spice level. Your batter shouldn't get too runny - but hey! Maybe you feel like experimenting. Fry the batter up in a generous amount of cooking oil, and make sure your pan is hot. I made little guys - maybe 1.5 to 2 tbl at a time.

Serve with the relish, which couldn't be easier to make - just mix all the ingredients! Enjoy with good company, preferably not a midterm paper though like I did. What a buzz kill.

Ugh, and apologies about the horrible photo. My camera was running out of battery, that was the best I got.

Sweet and Sour Tofu

Vegan Yum Yum Recipe mildly adapted to my ingredients

Ingredients:

1 Tub Extra Firm Tofu, pressed (If you can, use frozen and thawed Tofu)
2 tsp Ener-g Egg Replacer + 4 tsp water, mixed
1/4 Cup Cornstarch
1/8 Cup Canola Oil & 1/8 cup Olive Oil
Sesame Seeds for garnish

Sauce
3 1/2 Tbs Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1/4 Cup Water
2 Tbs Sugar
1 Tbs Soy Sauce
1 1/2 Tbs Ketchup
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tbs Cornstarch

1.Slice the tofu into triangles or small cubes. Smaller is good in this recipe.

2.Gently Toss tofu with the egg replacer/water mixture until coated.

3.Add cornstarch until each piece is well coated.

4.Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok.

5. While oil is heating, mix sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch/water into a small sauce pan and whisk over medium heat until sugar and salt is dissolved. Add cornstarch mixture and whisk until the sauce thickens. Keep an eye on this or it will stick to the bottom of the pan.

6. Fry tofu for about 5 minutes on each side (until golden.)

7.Drain/Dab Tofu of excess oil

8.Toss gently with sauce.

9. Top with sesame seeds and eat pronto.

Voting Time

It's pretty obvious to me that every participant is a winner because everything looked delicious. However, only one person is getting the cash prize, so let's go to the polls.

A few quick rules:

-Don't vote for yourself, that's lame

-Only vote once, c'mon

-Use a coaster, we respect the tables here

Now it's time for one of you to call out October's theme ingredient! Thanks again for everyone's participation.

Corned Beef and Cabbage with Horseradish Dijon Cream, BBQ Seitan with Coleslaw

Here is my Iron Chef Battle Brassicaceae entry. I decided to utilize the secret ingredient in numerous ways as you will see in the recipes. You may think that the seitan is the star of this dish but its not, believe me, the cabbage, horseradish, and mustard really steal the show on your palate. After you make this dish you will probably need a good nap because it is as hearty as can be. But I think that is a good thing, especially with the onset of colder weather.



For the seitan I actually just used some recipes as references and they are fairly simple to follow. If you go to www.everydaydish.tv you can find recipes for corned beef seitan and bbq seitan. I tweaked the recipes a bit by incorporating some of the secret ingredient, like mustard seeds in the corned beef and mustardy bits in the bbq sauce. I also roasted some sweet potatoes to compliment the bbq side of the plate, and some roasted fingerling potatoes to go with the corned beef and cabbage.

Smokey Maple Porter BBQ Sauce

About 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or just enough to fry the onions and garlic
1 chopped white onion
4 cloves of chopped garlic
12 oz. of Sierra Nevada Porter
1 cup of maple syrup
12 oz. of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of liquid smoke
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons of black pepper

Cook the onions and garlic until caramelized over medium heat. Add a bit of water every several minutes to de-glaze the pan. Add the rest of the ingredients cook for about 15 minutes then let cool and puree.

Creamy Coleslaw with Pickled Red onions

This absolutely is amazing and simple. It is a great cold crunchy and creamy contrast to the spicy hot bbq seitan.

1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
4 Tbsp Vegenaise
1 Tbsp German Mustard
2 Tbsp Agave nectar
splash red wine vinegar
salt + pepper

1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
2 tsp red wine vinegar
salt

Mix together all the slaw ingredients while you quickly pickle the red onions.

Braised Cabbage with Corned Beef Seitan

1 recipe corned beef seitan
1/2 head green cabbage, large dice
1 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic
2 tsps paprika
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
veg broth

Cook the onions and garlic in a bit of oil and add all the spices. Toss in the cabbage and seitan and add a bit of vegetable broth. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add more veg broth and cook ten minutes more. Serve with roasted fingerling potatoes and horseradish cream.

Horseradish Cream

1/2 block silken tofu
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp prepared horseradish, or more
2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Puree everything and chill. Serve over the corned beef and cabbage for a right good kick in the mouth.

Spinach and Cashew Ricotta Ravioli with Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce.

Also known as "Welcome Back Fall Raviolis." Or possibly "I'm Not Wearing My Skinny Jeans Tomorrow Raviolis." Whatever you prefer.

Sauce:
1 butternut squash
1/2 t dried rubbed sage
6 cloves of garlic, still in skin
1 T olive oil
1 c plain soy creamer
1 1/2 t salt
ground pepper to taste

1.) preheat the oven to 375. cut off the ends of the squash, cut in half, scoop out the guts and peel off the skin. Cut squash into 1 to 2 inch chunks.
2.) transfer squash to a rimmed baking sheet, toss the chunks in the oil and sage, and put the garlic (in skins) on the sheet to roast also.
3.) Bake for 20 minutes, toss, bake for another 20.
4.) peel the garlic, then puree garlic and squash in a food processor. Add soy creamer, salt and pepper, puree until smooth.
5.) transfer to small pot to warm on stove, stir in water by the 1/3 cup until you reach your desired consistency, adjust salt and pepper.

Spinach and cashew ricotta (based on recipe in Veganomicon)

1 c cashews
1/4 c lemon juice
2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 lb firm tofu
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t thyme
handful of fresh basil leaves
2 T nutritional yeast
3 to 4 cups fresh baby spinach

1.) steam the spinach, and set aside in a colander to drain.
2.) blend cashews, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil in the food processor.
3.) add tofu, mix until it has that lovely, creamy ricotta texture.
4.) toss is salt, thyme, basil, and nutritional yeast and blend a little more.
5.) transfer to a bowl, and once the spinach is cool and drained, mix that in too.


Ravioli dough (which I'm not quite happy with, I need to play with this.)

2 c flour
2 t salt
3 Ener-G "eggs" (1 1/2 t powder, 2 T warm water per egg)

1.) mix flour and salt
2.) add egg replacer, mix
3.) add warm water until thick dough has formed (if its too sticky, just add more flour), and then let it sit for 15 minutes, start a big pot of water to boil
4.) roll it out and go crazy! make whatever ravioli shapes you want, scoop on a spoons-worth of filling and seal it up tight. just remember they will stay together a whole lot better if you wet and score the seal.
5.) throw the raviolis into the boiling pot 5 or 6 at a time, cook for 5 minutes or until they float to the top
6.) top with sauce, chopped walnuts, and any leftover spinach.
7.) dig in hard.



Also, if you follow this recipe you are going to end up with way too much filling and sauce. You can either 1/2 the recipes or take advantage of having delicious leftover ricotta on sammies, pasta, or just as straight dip, and use the sauce over pasta, rice, as a soup, whatever you like.

Brussels Sprouts from Budapest

I haven't been cooking too much - living in a dorm setting again took some getting used to. (I'm studying in Budapest). But the market is so great, one of the best I've gone to. I won't bore you with details, but instead I will entice you with my recipe. I'm not positive this is my submission into Jonathan's contest - we'll see if I can put my cauliflower into good use. Also, I forgot my camera in Chicago so until then I will be using photobooth to document my recipes. Which is unfortunate, this dish just looks like a glorified salad in the pictures but I promise it is so much more than that. I would even consider using walnuts instead of hazelnuts in this, and some fried shallots would have been great.

Brussels from Budapest

1/2 lb brussels sprouts - cut into shreds

1/2 block of firm tofu - cubed

1/4 cup hazelnuts - toasted

1 small apple - cubed

1/2 onion - sliced

1/2 avocado - cubed

olive oil

Dressing

1 tbl stone ground dijon

1/2 tbl honey/sweetener

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tbl olive oil

salt to taste

First cook onions and tofu in a pan with a bit of olive oil, and after the tofu is browned transfer to a bowl. Cook the shredded brussels for a few minutes, until you notice them caramelizing. Make sure to not over cook them. Transfer into the bowl with tofu. Toss in the apples, avocado, and dressing. Gently toss to incorporate all the ingredients.

Eat immediately, the brussels sprouts only taste good right after you cook them - I tried the leftovers in the morning and it wasn't great.

Garlic, Spinach, & Garbanzo Tarts with a Mustard Biscuit Crust and Roast Red Pepper/ Almond Sauce

Crust:

mix together:

2 c. flour

1 T. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp mustard powder

2 tsp baking powder

with a pastry blender cut in:

3 T. vegetable shortening

with a wooden spoon mix in:

1/2 c. COLD almond milk

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Divide dough into 6 equal parts and on a floured surface roll into thin 6 inch circles.

Filling:

1 can garbanzos, drained and rinced

5 large cloves garlic, minced

1/4 red onion, diced

2 T. olive oil

16 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

fresh ground pepper to taste

1. toast garbanzos over medium heat in a dry pan for about 5 min, keep them moving around so they don't stick.

2. add onions, garlic and oil, let it chill for another 3 minutes until the garlic and onions start to sweat.

3. add spinach and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring ocationally.

Press the dough into a greased muffin pan and drop equal parts of filling into each dough circle, then fold in the edges of the crust and crease at the top. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Sauce:

Blacken half a red pepper over a gas burner, put that and a handful of almonds into your blender/ food processor with a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend/ food process until you can't blend it any more! Then add almond milk into the mixture while blending until it's about the consistency of ketchup. Enjoy!

Spinach and Chickpea Fritters

This is a recipe from the Food Network Magazine, adapted to personal taste and available ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 cup chickpea flour(all purpose flour may work as well)
1/4 cup cornstarch
10 dashes cumin
10 dashes cayenne pepper
small yellow onion
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 TBSP ginger, peeled, minced
veg/olive oil for frying


Condiment suggestion: Really quick and easy Chili-Lime Mayonnaise
TBSP Vegenaise
TBSP fresh lime juice
tsp Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce

1. Whisk ingredients up to cayenne in a large bowl.
2. Add 2/3 cup water and whisk more until smooth
3.Add the rest of the ingredients (not oil) and mix all ingredients together well.
4.Spoon heaping tablespoon size scoops into your hand, and form mixture into a ball.
5. Put in hot oil and fry for a few minutes on each side, until crisp and golden brown.
6.Remove from oil and place on paper-towel lined plate.
7.Repeat until the bowl is empty.
8. Try experimenting with different dipping sauces, but the chili-lime mayo is very tasty and though it is a spicy mayo, it is somewhat cooling to the palate.

Eggplant "Parmesan"

I'm not sure if I was a HUGE fan of this dish or not, but it was a decent rendition of a classic. Adjust ingredients to your liking and make this your own, maybe your tweaks will make it perfect.

Ingredients:
1 Large Eggplant,sliced
1 can tomatoes,drained,rinsed
1 tomato,diced
2 cloves garlic
thyme
oregano
basil

Vegan Parmesan:
1 part raw almonds, ground finely as possible
2 parts nutritional yeast
dash of sea salt

1.Boil enough water to cover all of your eggplant in a large pot. While this is on it's way, preheat oven to 375.
2.Place eggplant in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
3.Mix tomatoes, garlic and spices in a seperate bowl.
4. Try to drain eggplant of some excess moisture and arrange eggplant slices in the bottom of a baking pan.
5.Top with tomato mixture and Vegan Parmesan, alternating(tomato/cheese/tomato/cheese) if preferred.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375.
7. Enjoy!

Moong Dal (Yellow Lentil)-type Dish

This is an interesting Dal dish that came out a bit drier (almost rice-like consistency) than I imagined, but it was tasty nonetheless. This is adapted from a Vegetarian Times recipe to my taste and to my available ingredients.

Ingredients:
About 1TBSP of Canola Oil
A thumb sized piece of Ginger, minced
2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Moong Dal(Yellow Lentils), rinsed and sorted
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 tsp. ground turmeric
sea salt to taste

1. Heat oil in pan, add ginger and red pepper. Saute for about a minute.
2. Add onion, garlic and salt, saute for another minute.
3. Add all other ingredients and cover.
4.Reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, when liquid is absorbed.
5. Let cool. Insert into mouth. Chew. Swallow.

September Competition - Cash prize!

I propose a competition, Iron Chef style. With the theme ingredient being my favorite veggie family (I'm sure Stephen can correct me on the correct classification of this word): Brassicaceae. This means that cabbage, kale, spinach, turnips, mustard, and so on are fair game.

The winner will get a cash prize in the mail from me! Since this is my competition, try to make it vegan, but if you don't that's cool too. Just have the posts in by September 30th. We will decide on how to vote later.

Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes with Fig Spread

Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 over ripe bananas

1 scoop peanut butter

1/3 cups apple sauce

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons sugar (or maple syrup if you're like that)

about 3 cups ww flour

about 2 teaspoons baking powder

1 handful roasted walnuts

Soy milk

Method:

1. Wash Hands.

2. Mash the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl

3. Add the rest of the ingredients except soymilk and mix.

4. Add soy milk until it becomes the consistency of pancake batter, it should be just barely able to drip off a wooden spoon.

5. use a 1/4 c. measuring cup to drop batter onto a hot greased pan

6. Flip when the bubbles in the middle are just starting to pop (it should be golden brown on both sides when done).

Fig Spread

Put a handful of dried figs in your food processor. Add 1 tablespoon of sirup and 2-4 tablespoons of soy milk until it looks like a creamy paste. Enjoy on your pancakes.

Creamy Chickpeas & Bell Pepper Salad

Holy hell this is fantastic. So many layers of flavor and incredibly easy to make. No cooking necessary, just combine it all in a bowl and feast!

This recipe will feed one burly man harboring an empty stomach, two love birds longing for a light lunch, or go as a nice side dish for grilled anything.

Two cans chickpeas

About one bell pepper, deseeded, cored and diced (I just squared pre-cut colored peppers from Whole Foods)

One big scoop of Vegenaise

A little Sriracha (goes a long way)

A pinch of garlic, granulated or fresh

Minced dill, chives, and a little parsley (parsley flakes work well too!)

Salt / Pepper

Friday Morning(Afternoon) Hearty Breakfast

After a night of Villa Park Debauchery in celebration of Jon's glorious escape from Illinois, we needed some comfort food. There was only one solution.

Tofu Scramble
Ingredients:
1 block Firm Tofu, crumbled
1 serrano pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
3 TBSP nutritional yeast
2 TBSP dijon mustard
few squirts Liquid Smoke
salt and pepper to taste

1. Add onion and serrano to hot pan sprayed with oil. Cook till sweaty.
2.Add tofu, let cook for about 10 minutes.
3.Add everything else. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
4.Eat. Slather with ketchup or BBQ sauce if you're a sauceman/woman.

PAN SIZED Hash Browns
Ingredients:
2 Yukon Gold Potatoes
salt and pepper to taste

1.Wash hands.
2.Poke with a fork. Remove Fork. Microwave potatoes for about three minutes.
3.Let cool, grate with fine grater.
4.Pan fry at medium heat for about 15 minutes each side.
5.Enjoy. Slather with ketchup.

Eat more Chipotle/Adobo!

These are awesome in anything you want to have a spicy "Mexican" flavor. Be careful though, they are spicier than I imagined. If you are a fan of Chipotle Tabasco you will love this(seems obvious.) But yes, you can purchase it in Mexican grocery stores or many other stores with good international aisles. I know this isn't a recipe but I just wanted to share the wealth of a great product I have recently fell in love with.


Product Description via Amazon.com
(Smoked red jalapeño peppers in spices, vinegar, tomatoes and ancho chiles. (pronounced "chee-POHT-lay"). CHIPOTLE PEPPERS A chipotle pepper is a red Jalapeño chile, ripened, dried, and smoked through a special process. Derived from the Aztec word meaning smoke, jalapeños are placed over huge pits and smoke is blown through tunnels running underground. Chipotle Characteristics - A unique warm heat and smoky flavor , chipotles are packed in a red adobo sauce made from lightly seasoned tomato broth. Embasa chipotles are completely shielded from all the elements during processing to produce an exceptional product. Tan - brown, veined and ridged, they are 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) long and 2.5 cm (1 inch) in diameter. Medium-thick fleshed, with a subtle deep rounded heat, they are excellent in sauces, soups, and as a seasoning for meats and stews.)

Roasted Potatoes with Aioli

One of my favorite tapas dishes at Radio Mario is their roasted potatoes with aioli. It's so simple and so good. This is almost as good and probably cheaper.

Roasted Potatoes

6-8 cubed small new red potatoes (but really you can make as much as you want)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Generous amounts of salt and pepper

Aioli

1/4 cup of any veg/soy based "mayonnaise" - I've been using Nasoya

2-3 cloves of finely minced garlic

1 tbl lemon juice

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375F. 

In a mixing bowl toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour onto a baking sheet, making sure that everything is well coated. 

For the aioli, just mix everything well in a small bowl. Let it sit for a little bit so the garlic mellows out.

Cook the potatoes for about 45 minutes, or until they are brown and a little crispy. When served, drizzle some of the aioli over the warm potatoes - leaving extra if you want more. 

Chili Pea Puffs

So these are delicious. And it is not really my recipe, I got it from 101cookbooks.com which is such a great site. Heidi, the writer, samples recipes from different cookbooks and this one is from Monica Bhide's Modern Spice cookbook. I've made this a couple of times, once vegan and once with paneer. Both were delicious, and I couldn't really tell the difference between the two. This is mostly copied  from the recipe on the website, but I've changed a couple of things.

Chili Pea Puffs

1 cup cooked mashed peas

1/4 crumbled paneer or tofu

2 small serrano peppers (remove seeds and veins - I left the seeds in one since I like my food pretty spicy)

1/2 - 1 teaspoon of chili powder or flakes

2 cloves minced garlic

salt and pepper

About 32 wonton wrappers (I used the square shape)

(I've omitted the use of egg white...I hate wasting yolk and this way it can easily be made vegan)

Preheat the oven to 400F - I hope you have air conditioning. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Place a teaspoon of the filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper. It's tempting to add a whole lot of filling, but that will make it so much harder to fold. Dab warm water on one side of the wrapper, and press the two sides together. I followed Heidi's example and made it into a small spring roll shape. It was pretty simple, you just need to fold the wrap diagonally, and then fold in the sides to make the spring roll shape. 

Spray or brush the puffs with cooking oil, and cook in the oven for about 10 minutes, making sure to flip half way. 101cookbooks says 7-8 minutes, but for some reason my oven always takes longer than recipes say. Serve warm, and with a sweet/spicy sauce. I actually made a sauce from a cherry butter I had on hand. I added some spice and tartness, and it was great. 

Also, these puffs freeze really well. You can stick them in the oven straight from the freezer.

Spicy Chipotle Mexican Soup

This is a soup/stew that has a taste reminiscent of a spicy chili. If you do not enjoy spicy foods, feel free to use less chipotle peppers and cayenne. But nonetheless, this is a great quick and hearty dinner or lunch. 

Makes enough for a few to eat, plus leftovers.

Cooking Time: About 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 can Chickpeas, drained,rinsed

1 can Black beans, drained, rinsed

1 medium Red Onion,chopped

2 TBSP Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce(canned), finely chopped (This equals about two peppers)

8 oz. Tomato Paste

1 can Water (adjust to your preference of consistency)

Salt

Pepper

Cayenne

Lemon/Lime Juice

Cilantro

1.Add all ingredients into a pot, except the fresh cilantro.

2.Cook for about 10 minutes on medium-high heat.

3.Turn off heat, let cool and give flavors a chance to meld. 

4.Garnish with fresh cilantro.

5.Enjoy.

This is quite a spicy dish, so in my mind, a vegan sour cream could be a great addition as a topping. A  horchata or a mexican beer would both also be  great cooling drinks next to this spicy soup. Sorry for the poorly planned photo.

Beet Greens? I thought beets were purple...

Vegan vs. (Un)Vegan


For those that know and love me, know how much I know and love beets. Roasted, salad-ed, soup-ed, (but not canned, never canned), beets are great. But beet greens have always sort of baffled me. When I had a rabbit, I happily fed him said baffling tops, but now I must consume them myself. Thus I give to you a way to enjoy the entirety of the beet. (Word(s) of caution: Upon using the sugar/apple cider vinegar combo I found the whole concoction to be a little sweet, so you really need a salty counterbalance, or maybe use a different vinegar as suggested below)

• 1 pound beet greens
• Vegan: Earth-B /(Un)Vegan: Butter
  
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1 Tbsp sugar (optional)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/6 cup of cider vinegar (for less sweet results balsamic vinegar)
• Vegan: a salty topping to counter the sweet, perhaps salted sunflower seeds/ (Un)Vegan: Feta Cheese

Getting Down to Cookin'

Wash, Wash, Wash the greens (seriously, they are dirty). Drain and cut really thick stems off. Cut leaves into smaller pieces, for chewing pleasure.

In a large skillet melt your choice of fat on medium heat. Add onions, cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and start to brown. Stir in garlic. Add water to the hot pan, stirring to loosen any particles from bottom of pan. Stir in sugar (optional) and red pepper. Bring it to a boil (might boil faster if you turn away).

Add the beet greens, gently coating them in your newly made concoction. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5-15 minutes until the greens are tender (Careful not to overcook, you don't want them to be limp and sad). Stir in vinegar of choice.

Add salty topping of your choosing, and noms away!

National Mustard Day (Yesterday!)

Yesterday was National Mustard Day and I hope you found the time to celebrate, as mustard is no question my favorite condiment of all, possibly even my favorite food. Some of our killa peas members came together today and enjoyed a Beet & Chard Pasta with Mustard Sauce, Fried Green Tomatoes from Jon's parent's garden dipped in various types of mustard, and some Fresh Cut Potato and Sweet Potato Fries dipped in mustard OF COURSE. This meal was enjoyed outdoors with a perfect moonlit sky. If you didn't already celebrate, be sure to top your morning granola or smoothie with a bit of your favorite style of mustard. 

http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/mustardhistory.htm

Here is a quite blurry picture, but worth sharing: 

Vegan Dad's Meatballs Cocktail Party Style

I had a craving for some sweet meatballs after seeing "Swedish Meatballs" advertised at IKEA. So I came home and made Vegan Dad's Italian Meatballs and added my own twist topping them with a sauce consisting of about 3 parts BBQ Sauce and 2 parts Grape Jelly. This recipe is awesome!
VEGAN DAD ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Kale w/ Peanut Butter Sauce

This is a great way to enjoy the sometimes under-appreciated green Kale.
Ingredients:
1 Bunch Kale
2 TBSP Natural Peanut Butter (Whole Foods 365 being my favorite)
1 TBSP Soy Sauce
3/4 TBSP Seasoned Rice Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Maple Syrup(optional)
Sriracha(optional)

1. Break stems off kale and pull into edible size pieces.
2.Place in a skillet over medium/high heat with a squirt of water. Add a little sea salt and pepper, and give the Kale a squirt of lemon juice.
3.While this is cooking, mix all other ingredients and mash
peanut butter into sauce with a fork.
4.Add a little water to get the correct consistency.
5.When Kale looks a brighter green and shrinks down a bit,
add this sauce to the skillet of Kale and let thicket for just a minute or two.
6. Garnish with some Sriracha if you like your greens with some heat.
7.Serve with a smile and enjoy with a good looking friend.

Okra with Tomatoes and Corn

I love okra but have never worked with this peculiar vegetable before, so I bought some and found from the internet that Okra with Tomatoes and Corn is a classic, simple dish. What the recipes didn't tell me (and I had to find out from the Chef at the hotel I work at, after I noticed the hotel serves this dish) was the crucial first step for taking the slime and bitterness out of okra.

1 small onion, chopped
2 good handfuls (and assuming most people have bigger hands than I do) of okra, stemmed and sliced ~1/2 inch thick
1 large tomato, diced
~1/3 can of corn
crushed red pepper

1. Take your okra and sautee with oil in a really HOT pan
2. Put aside and toss the onion into the pan till soft (no need for oil from here on out, just let 'em sweat)
   
3. Add the tomato and cook for short time to soften it
   
4. Add the corn, okra, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and simmer on low heat for another 15 or so minutes
5. Serve on rice or as a side dish. Sprinkling a little shredded parmesan can be a nice touch.
   

Mushroom "Bolognese"

For dinner tonight we had a mushroom bolognese - or at least my version of it - accompanied with a super rich soup contributed by Jonathan. I think they paired nicely, though both of them were very filling. I've never had a true bolognese sauce, I think though that they are supposed to be really creamy and fatty...but then again I have no idea. Lily Allen makes a reference to it in one of her songs. All in all, the dish came out well. I'll definitely try making this one again.

"Bolognese" Sauce

1 pkg mushrooms (8-10 oz) chopped finely

1 small onion

2-3 cloves garlic minced

3 tbl tomato paste

1 can diced tomatoes

2 tbl Earth Balance (I know that seems like a lot, but it's worth it)

Olive Oil

oregano

parsley

salt and pepper

fresh basil

In a large skillet cook the mushrooms in olive oil until they are brown and have released their juices. Add the onion, cook until translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes, stir thoroughly. Cook until the sauce reduces to a thick creamy consistency, this took maybe 10-15 minutes. Melt in the Earth Balance or any type of butter. Add the spices, salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle a bit of olive oil into the sauce, and add in some fresh basil if you have any on hand. 

I served the sauce over some pasta from the farmer's market. It was a mixture of two already opened packages - I think one was spinach and the other was sweet basil. It was tasty, but this sauce would be really good over ordinary spaghetti noodles. 

Peach-Strawberry Crisp

So the Farmer's Market had some great looking peaches, so I bought 1,000. Well, not quite - but way more than I was going to eat. I also had some strawberries that were in need of some eating. This is a tasty and easy way to use up some fruit that's about to go bad. Waste not!

Peach-Strawberry Crisp

6 small peaches, peeled and sliced

1 1/2 cup of small strawberries, sliced

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup vegan butter

Mix the oats, flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Layer the peaches and strawberries in a small baking dish. Sprinkle the oat mixture on top of the fruit. Bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes. You want to make sure you get some real nice crunchy bits. Mine came out a little saucier than I expected, but it was still very tasty. The crisp is delicious on its own, but even better with some vanilla ice cream. 

Thai-inspired coconut tofu soup

Jonathan and I tried our hands at this Thai Tom Yum-like soup instead of grilling on the Fourth. Maybe that's why we didn't get to see the fireworks. This is a very flavorful soup that can withstand your personal interpretation of the ingredients.

• 5 cups vegetable stock (we ended up using only two cups stock & two cups water or so, but it turned out fine
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1-3 small Thai chili peppers, minced unseeded (small red chili or jalapeno peppers would also be good)
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• a generous amount of ginger, thinly sliced
• Enoki mushrooms (straw mushrooms would also be delicious)
• cauliflower (bell peppers would also be good)
• snow peas
  
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
  
• 2 tomatoes, cut up in large chunks
• soy sauce
  
• 1 package tofu, diced (we used firm, but soft would probably be much better)
• 1 lime (or if you have lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves)
  
• fresh cilantro and/or green onions

These ingredients make for a big soup--I've been eating it for days

Bring the stock to boil in a large pot. Toss in the chili peppers, garlic, onion, and ginger. Let boil for an additional 5 min. Add in the mushrooms, snow peas, carrots, and cauliflower and cook for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat on low and pour in the coconut milk and tomatoes. Add soy sauce to taste--more if the broth is too sweet. Put in the tofu and squeeze in the lime juice before simmering for several minutes. Serve with a hearty garnish of cilantro & green onions. Serve with rice for a full meal.

Note about the chili peppers: I love spicy foods, so I made the mistake of adding too many chili peppers here. The peppers give the broth a really nice kick, but they really shouldn't overpower the other flavors of the soup. Two peppers for this size of soup would be fine; I would not go for more than three.

Kong Gook Soo (Cold Soybean Noodle Soup)

Yum, so refreshing, and also one of the cheapest and easiest things to make ever. Seriously I think there were six ingredients, seven if you include water or ice-cubes. In Korean it's called Kong Gook Soo, literally soy bean soup. It is one of the few vegetarian/vegan dishes you will find at authentic Korean restaurants. Most Korean markets sell packaged mixes and they're pretty good, but it's just so easy to make yourself. 

I only wish it were 80 degrees and sunny instead of muggy and gray so I could enjoy it even more. 

Kong Gook Soo

2 cups dried soybeans 

5-6 cups of cold water

optional: pine nuts or walnuts

Somen or Somyeon noodles - thin wheat noodles (look like white soba, they also come in bundles like soba)

salt

sesame seeds

cucumber, thinly sliced

ice-cubes

Soak the soybeans in hot water for 1-2 hours. Boil the beans and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Don't worry if they never get super soft. Rinse the beans in cold water. 

You may have to do the blending in two parts. I did and I used a normal sized processor. I pureed half the beans with about 3 cups of water. Dump that in a bowl, and puree the rest. I also added a small palmful of pine nuts to this mixture. 

Salt to taste

You may want to pour this mixture through a sieve if it's still chunky. Or you can just thin it out with more water. At the end you should have a pretty smooth consistency. 

Put desired amount of noodles in bowl, a couple of ladles of soup in bowl. Garnish with cucumber and sesame seeds. Drop in some ice-cubes to keep it nice and cold. I recommend an 80 degree day without a cloud in sight as the perfect pairing.

BBQ Portobello Garden Burger

I had to go back to back cause I have a lot of recipes I am excited about and want to share and I haven't posted in a while. So here is another one that is great for that perfect spring barbecue.

Portobello Burger

1 portobello cap

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

1 Roma tomato

1/2 green pepper

1/4 cup chickpeas

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp yellow mustard

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp mustard powder

2 cups breadcrumbs

2tsp olive oil

2/3 flour

1/2 tsp celery salt

salt & pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to your food processor and blend until you get a nice crumbly very thick mixture. Put in mixing bowl and make sure its all well mixed together. Form into patties and bake in the oven at 325 for about 20-25 minutes. Once its done in the oven mover her over to the grill and grill on both sides for like 3 minutes each. Get your self some good bread, your favorite BBQ sauce, and all the fixings. Enjoy.

Depending on the size of your patties, it can feed about six with good sized burgers.

Salisbury Seitan with Canadian Wild Rice

I was looking for a real manly meal so I guess this is what I came up with.

Seitan

3 cups Gluten Flour

1 cup water

3tbsp soy sauce

1/4cup crushed tomato

2 cloves garlic

1tbsp cumin

1tbsp onion powder

3 tbsp kosher salt

1/4cup olive oil

1tsp mustard powder

First put the tomato, soy sauce, garlic, oil, and spices in a food processor until you get a nice paste. Then in a mixing bowl add the paste, water and flour until it all comes together. Form it into a log and wrap in tin foil. Steam for 1 hour. After the seitan is done cooking then marinate it in soy sauce, maple syrup and liquid smoke overnight.

The Rice

1 1/2 cups Canadian wild rice

2 1/2 cups of water

pinch of salt

drop of lemon juice

Add your rice, water, lemon juice and salt to your favorite saucepan. Bring to a boil. Then turn down heat to very low, cover and cook for one hour. Its worth it.

Gravy

2/3 cup of vegan butter

1/3 cup of hemp milk

1/2 onion pureed

2 cloves garlic

1tsp chives

1tsp sage

1/2 tsp cumin

2tsp soy sauce

pepper

Add garlic, onion and butter to saucepan. When you smell that wonderful garlic through the whole room add the hemp milk. Then add your spices and soy sauce. Whisk in your flour until you get the consistency you like.

Slice up a couple of seitan steaks, put it over some wonderful wild rice, load it with gravy, sprinkle with some red pepper flakes, grab a beer and enjoy.

Stealin' never tasted so good - Red Lentil Soup with Green Apple Salsa

I admit it, this recipe is not mine. I found it on FatFreeVegan.com, but boy oh boy is it good. So I've stolen it and will share it with you here. There's been some red lentils and coconut milk hanging out in my pantry, so I decided to give them a chance to get to know each other a little more intimately. 

Salsa:

• 2/3 cup finely chopped Granny Smith apple
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Soup:

• 3 1/2 cups veggie broth/stock
• 1 cup dried small red lentils
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk (original recipe suggests light, but really who are we kidding here?)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa:

Combine the first 4 ingredients; cover and chill. (that was easy)

For the soup:

Combine broth, lentils, and onion in a large pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until lentils are tender. 

Pour half of lentil mixture in a blender; let stand 5 minutes (so that you don't build up to much steam in your blender). Process until smooth and pour the pureed lentil mixture into a bowl. 

Pour remaining lentil mixture into blender; process until smooth. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, and turmeric; process until smooth. 

Return coconut milk mixture and remaining pureed lentil mixture to the pot. Cover and simmer over medium heat 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon juice, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls. Don't forget to top each serving with 1/4 cup salsa.

 It is so delicious and so easy and fast, perfect soup for the summer

Raw Squash Peas and Tomato Zucchini Artichoke

FOR TWO:

Ingredients

1/2 Tomato
2 Baby Artichoke (soaked prepared)
1/4 Cup Garbanzos
4 Crimini Mushrooms
1 Zucchini
1 Yellow Squash
Olive Oil and Bragg's to taste

Cube the tomato. Throw in bowl. Pitch Garbanzos (once washed) in bowl. Toss picked apart Artichoke in bowl. Slice mushrooms and huck them in the bowl. Use vegetable peeler or mandolin to create pasta noodles with Zucchini and Yellow Squash. Drop them in the bowl. Add your favorite pasta spices. Turn around. Turn back around. Eat. Raw. Pasta. Life is good.

Lasagna Spirals in Vodka Sauce

This is a really easy recipe, though there seems to be a lot of steps. The most intimidating bit is probably the vodka sauce, but it was honestly so simple. This particular dish was not vegan but can easily be made vegan with a few changes. I looked up some alternatives for the heavy cream( ground cashews/or nutritional yeast) and ricotta (seasoned crumbled firm tofu). I'm not sure how those will work out, but I think I might try them out to see.

Lasagna Spirals:

9 boiled Lasagna noodles (depends on how many are being served)

1 cup ricotta (or vegan ricotta mixture made from tofu, garlic powder, salt, nutmeg)

1 cup cooked spinach

1 ½ cup sliced baby portabella mushrooms

salt

pepper

nutmeg

In a medium sized bowl mix the spinach, salt, pepper and nutmeg with the ricotta. Spread a thin layer of the mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Layer some mushrooms on top. Roll the noodle to create a spiral shape.

Vodka Sauce

1 can diced tomato

1 can tomato sauce

½ cup of heavy cream (vegan alternatives are cashew or nutritional yeast)

¼ cup of vodka

6-7 cloves garlic

1 tbl olive oil

crushed red pepper

salt

pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Smash garlic cloves and add to the pan. After the garlic has browned, add the diced tomato and tomato sauce. Add generous amounts of salt, pepper and crushed red pepper (depending on how much heat you want). Bring the sauce to a boil and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the vodka, simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Fish out the garlic cloves. Add ½ cup of cream (or ground cashews or nutritional yeast). Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

Ladle half the sauce into a baking sheet with sides. Place the lasagna rolls onto the sauce. Ladle the rest of the sauce on top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

We paired this meal with a delicious, delicious gimlet – my favorite cocktail. Ask Stephen for his recipe. 

Banana-Nut Bok Choy with Baked Tofu

I had a few over-ripe banana's that I was trying to get rid of so I decided to experiment with a sweet, summery sauce. When I do it again, I will probably put some more nuts in the sauce to give it a better texture. 

Banana-Nut Bok Choy

Banana Nut Sauce:

2 over ripe bananas

20 raw cashews

2 Tbsp. Soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 Tbsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 Tbsp. Paprika

Just toss all of the ingredients in your blender or food processor and let them liquify.

Bok Choy

Get some onions, garlic, and oil going in a frying pan and let that simmer over medium heat for about 2 minutes. While this is going, wash and peal apart 3 baby bok choys, then add that into your pan and cover for 6-9 minutes until bok choy is soft but still has a crunch. Then add the banana nut sauce and let it reduce for about 3 minutes.

Serve warm over brown rice.

Baked Tofu

1 block tofu, cut into strips

marinade:

2 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Water

1/2 tsp. hot pepper flakes 

1/2 tsp. lemmon juice

Soak the tofu in the marinade for as long as you can stand to wait. Then, broil the tofu on a greased flat pan for 7 minutes on a side.

smoky tofu with roasted corn salad and spiced sweet potatoes

Hey dudes. It has been awhile since I posted but nonetheless here is a dish I made a week or two ago. Its pretty simple. Might be a pain in the ass now to have your oven on with the warm weather , but that is what makes this much easier to put together. You can do this all on the stove top too. Either way, it should be alright.


Smoky tofu
1 block of tofu cut into 16 triangles.
oil
black pepper
tamari
liquid smoke

Pan fry tofu in a few teaspoons of oil. Cook both sides until golden brown. Then once just about done, splash the tofu with tamari and liquid smoke. Season with black pepper and bake for about 20 mins at 375 ish.

For the sweet potatoes.....
Cube one or two decent sized sweets into about a 1 in dice. Boil for about ten minutes in salted boiling water. Once done, toss drained hot potatoes with olive oil and spice mixture (cumin, coriander, chili powder or paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper). Roast with tofu for about 20 mins.

Roasted corn salad
2 ears corn, roasted
1 green or red bell pepper, finely diced
1 red onion, finely diced
1 can black or kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 avocado, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Mix everything together.

The sauce on the plate was a cashew sour cream with siracha dots.

Hope you like this one!

Food Party!

It looks as if the blog has taken a little break - but no worries we've all been cooking just the same. Term papers, exams, and general end of semester stress has made us a little neglectful of the blog. Well, summer is here and I thought I'd start it off with some pictures of one of our spectacular food parties.

A little while ago, maybe two weeks ago, some of us had an awesome potluck. The premise was that if Anthony made a delicious vegan pizza for Jonathan and Michael, they would start eating vegan. They have been vegan since. The potluck included fried rice burritos, fresh spring rolls, vegan pizzas, cornbread and delicious, delicious chocolate mousse (vegan!) - which you may have seen on Yana's post. 

We were all so stuffed it hurt, but I know I could not stop stuffing my mouth. Good job ladies and gentlemen! 

Kelly's finger is no longer with us...

Fried Rice Burritos

Fresh Spring Rolls

Supa Kewt!

Vegan Pizzas