Chickpea Curry & Coconut Rice

I really burned myself out on curries for a while but I'm back, baby! I didn't know what sounded good, so I just kept adding shit until it tasted exactly how I wanted. It's a mishmash of all my favorite things, and damn was it tasty as hell!

I read somewhere recently about cooking rice in coconut milk for some good flavor. I love coconut milk and I love rice, so there was no way I couldn't fall passionately in obsession with it. I highly recommend making the coconut rice to go with the curry. Recipe: 1 cup uncooked rice to 1 can of lite coconut milk. You won't regret it.

Makes 4 large portions.

What you need:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 2 cups cauliflower florets (I steamed mine to cut cooking time down)
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 slightly heaped cup roasted cashews, but raw is great too
• 4 large button mushrooms cut into wedges
• 1 very large handful baby spinach, shredded or chopped
• 1-2 TB grapeseed oil
• curry powder, a few TB
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• salt to taste

 

What you do:

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Once it's shimmering, add chickpeas, cauliflower, cashews, onion, carrot, and mushroom. Stir well and cook about 5 minutes. 
2. When the veggies are softened, add the spices and 3/4 of the coconut milk. Let simmer until it thickens somewhat, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Feel free to add more coconut milk or spices. It's your dinner, not mine. When you're pretty much satisfied, turn off the heat and stir in the spinach to wilt. It'll only take about 2 minutes.
3. Serve up over some badass coconut rice.

My 1st Chia Smoothie

Alright, dudes. I decided to try adding chia seeds to a smoothie. It's supposed to add protein and essential fatty acids, so I thought, "Eh, why not?"

It turned out quite well and way more filling than I would've thought. I read that there are 3 ways to add chia to your smoothies:

• soak the seeds in liquid a few minutes to let it gel up and soften the seeds
• grind the seeds in a coffee grinder
• or add them straight when you start blending in the, well, blender

I took the soaking route. I was not wanting to have crunchy whole seeds in my smoothie. I soaked 1 TB of chia seeds in 1/2 cup of coconut milk for about 6 minutes while I was gathering the other ingredients. According to MyFitnessPal, this smoothie is 203 calories.

Here's what I used in my smoothie:

• 1 TB organic chia seeds
• 1/2 cup Silk coconut milk
• 1/4 cup organic blueberries
• 1/4 cup carrot (1 smallish carrot)
•  1/4 cup fresh pineapple
• 1/2 small banana
• handful of ice
• 1/4 cup water

Here's what I did:

1. Mix the seeds and coconut milk together in a small bowl and let sit at least 5 minutes for the seeds to soften and gel up.
2. Add all of the ingredients into the blender and blend on high until smooth. Leave out the water if you prefer a thick smoothie. 

Creamy Curry with Tofu

If you read my last post, you know that my pal, Nicole (of Nicole Eats) is completely kickass and my recent cooking inspiration. She has been on a mission lately to help me find a recipe for tofu that will make me actually LIKE tofu. Okay, okay, I am a sucker for a really good scramble. But, I mean tofu as a dish. So, while we were chatting last night I saw a recipe for curried tofu somewhere. It stuck in my brain, so I decided that I needed to make some tofu today...and make it curried. This is not the recipe I found online...or anywhere. This came from my head, and I'm pretty stoked about that. So, I (of course) texted Nicole today to ask if it would work or be any good. I got her approval, and heated up my cast iron skillet.

Making tofu is all fine and good, but what else was this chickpea to make for dinner? Well, I do have a killer rice cooker, so I started some rice. What else? Well, I dug around in the pantry and fridge and scrounged up some awesome. I made a mellow, creamy curry to go with the tofu (which was fucking awesome, by the way), and chowed down.

For the tofu: 

• 1/4 block of pressed tofu, cut into small cubes (or whatever size gets your motor going)
• 1 TB cornstarch
• 1 TB of your favorite curry powder (I've been gifted some Shan brand and it is AWESOME)
• pinch salt
• 1TB oil for pan-frying

1.  Heat the oil in a skillet until shimmering. I had mine over a medium-high heat.
2. Throw the cornstarch, curry powder, and salt into a bowl and mix well with a fork. 
3. Toss in the tofu and shake it around until all the sides of the tofu are covered in starch and spice.

4. Now, carefully pour the tofu into the skillet and make into a single layer if possible. Stir every few minutes, until the sides are a bit crispy and cooked to your liking. 

For the Curry:

• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small dice
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1/4 of a large red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, tiny dice
• 1TB or more of your fave curry powder
• 1/2 can chickpeas
• 1/2 can of LITE coconut milk
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 TB cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water until the starch is dissolved

1. In a skillet with a lid, heat the broth with the curry powder and coriander mixed in. I turned my burner to Med-High for this. 
2. Once it's hot, add in the cauliflower, carrot, onion, tomato and garlic. Cook, covered, stirring every few minutes, until the veg is a bit crisp. I think mine took 8 minutes. 
3. Add in the chickpeas, coconut milk, and cornstarch slurry. Keep the lid off, and stir often so the coconut milk doesn't burn to the skillet. Cook until the sauce has thickened to your preference. Mine took about 6 minutes.

Almost there. Just another minute or 2.

So, there you have it. I officially like ONE tofu. And, I am getting back into my kitchen. Thank you, Nicole! You're my foodie BFF. xoxo meg

Coconutty Potato Lentil Curry

Curry sure isn't pretty, but it tastes kickass.

I've been meaning to make a coconutty curry for ages, but just haven't. Until today, that is. I had asked for inspiration and @greenvegnliving delivered. She recommended a recipe by Mark Bittman for potato lentil curry. It sounded tasty to start with, but I absolutely can't resist altering recipes like a mofo. I know; I'm a badass. You don't have to tell me. I added all sorts of flavor and goodness to the original recipe and it fucking rocks. I can't wait to have leftovers tomorrow. You do know that curries are even better the second day, right?

Serves 4 adults with rice and flatbreads

What you need:

• 1 can coconut milk (I used full-fat)
• 1-2 cups water
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 TB (or more) curry powder of your choice
• 1/2 tsp celery seed or celery salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp powdered mustard seed.
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1 small carrot, peeled and diced
• 1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped
• salt (I used a cool coarse black salt from Hawaii - NOT the sulfurous kala namak salt)

 What you do:

1. Heat a large-ish sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the lentils, 1 cup water and 1 can of coconut milk and mix well. Now mix in your spices except the salt (adding salt early in cooking lentil can cause them to not soften). Above are the starting measurements for the spices. Add whatever you want. 
2. Once the liquid starts to bubble, give it another stir, put a lid on the pot (slightly askew to let a tiny bit of steam out), then turn the heat way down to low. Simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Now, add in the onion, potato, and carrot. Here I added another cup of water because it had cooked down so far. Mix everything really well and put the lid on all the way. You'll cook this for about 20 more minutes on low. I set my stove timer to go off every 4 minutes to stir it. I just wanted to make sure it didn't burn to the bottom of the pot. Add more water and/or adjust your spices as needed. Cook until your potatoes are soft and everything tastes KILLER! The longer you simmer over low, the more time the spices have to develop a stellar, delicious sauce.

Kickass Kale Kiwi Smoothie

 

I have to say that I have never been a kale lover. I keep trying it and I never seem to like how it turns out. Anyway, I bought some a couple days ago to give it another shot. I was going to try mixing it into some of my super tasty OMG Hashbrowns recipe, but inspiration struck and I added them to my smoothie instead! I was shocked at how awesome it turned out.

I usually add fruit juice to my smoothies, but I have been using almond milk lately. To my surprise, I stumbled on this super awesome new milk at the grocery store. It's a coconut milk and almond milk blend and it rocks my socks so hardcore!!

Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about! I'm in serious love with it. Anywhoooo, give it a shot if you see it. It's comes in sweetened and unsweetened varieties, but I prefer the sweetened for my smoothies. Yum! Now, on to the smoothie.

What I used:

• 1 cup kale
• 1 small banana
• 2 kiwi, ends cut off (I always leave the skin on, but you don't have to)
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 cup almond-coconut milk
• handful of ice

What I did:

1. Threw it into my VitaMix and blended it. Duh. 

It makes 2 smallish smoothies or 1 very large one.

Kickass Coconut Cupcakes

The time has come for me to blow your minds with my mad cupcake skillz. Be prepared to experience a mouthgasm. I guarantee you will come crawling back, begging for more like some damn junky. To be honest, I'm really only sharing my recipe because I'm tired of beating back the cuppie junkies with my broom everyday. Get off my lawn! *shaking my fist*

So, here's the deal: I don't put a ton of coconut in the cupcake itself otherwise you have trouble disconnecting the cuppie from the wrapper, which I find infinitely annoying. Maybe you don't. So, if that's your thing, feel free to add more coconut to your batter. In the meantime, I will be here mocking your inability to peel your paper cups from your cuppies. I just add more coconut to the frosting to make up for it. Take that.

I have one more hint for this recipe. The frosting can be as runny or as stiff (ha) as you want it to be. Just add more powdered sugar as needed to stiffen it up. I like it pretty stiff (that's what she said), so I just keep adding powdered sugar by the 1/4th cup as needed. If you didn't know, 1/4 cup is the same as 4 TB. See, you've not only gained access to my wonderful recipe, you've learned something useful. For once.

My recipe is for 12 cupcakes, so you will need to engage in mathematical equations if you're wanting less. I originally wrote it for just 6, but then I realized that most folks would find that odd, so I have done you a favor by doing the math and making it so you don't have to. See, I can be nice sometimes! Now back off and leave me to the recipe-sharing.

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance, room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 egg replacements (as usual, I use Ener-G brand)
• 2 tsp plus a few extra drops vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2./3 plus 1/4 cup milk of your choice (I used coconut milk this time, but usually use almond)
• 2/3 cup sweetened coconut shreds

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance, room temp
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 TB milk of your choice (again, I used coconut)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla extract depending on your tastes
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut shreds
• Optional: you can also add a few TB of vegan cream cheese to the frosting, which I sometimes do, but not today. Make up your own mind. 

 Cupcake Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin pan with 12 paper liners. I use the kind from the health food store that have no dyes or wax or any of that. I'm elitist that way.
2. Cream together the Earth Balance and sugar. Don't worry. It will be a little grainy.
3. Whisk in your egg replacement and vanilla extract.
4. Whisk in flour, baking powder, salt and milk. This should be mostly smooth, maybe a few tiny lumps.
5. Gently fold in the coconut.
6. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the better out and fill the paper liners 2/3 full. If you fill beyond that point, do not blame me...I warned you.
7. Bake on middle rack 20-23 minutes. You want a bit of a golden hue around the edges. But, to be sure, do the toothpick test. 
8. Remove from the pan and let cool on a rack at least 30-45 minutes before frosting. 

Frosting Method:

1. Whip your Earth Balance (and cream cheese if you chose to add that) until nice and fluffy.
2. Mix in the vanilla and milk until just combined.
3. Slowly blend in the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time so it doesn't make a giant poof of sugar all over you. I've done it. You look stupid and feel like an idiot. Anyway, I add about 2 cups total here. 
4. Mix in the coconut. After that, I almost always add more powdered sugar because I like a good stiff frosting (similar to how I like my cocktails).
5. Refrigerate frosting while the cookies are cooling. I do recommend waiting until your cupcakes are cool to the touch before frosting otherwise your frosting melts and it makes a terrible mess and people will mock your cuppies.  You can always put the cuppies in the fridge to cool if you're in a time crunch. 

So, you're welcome. Or whatever.

Green Smoothie Addiction -- Vegan MOFO #28

Green smoothies.  THE drink of choice for choosy vegans.  Well, not everyone likes the green smoothies.  It has taken me a little while, but I actually crave their healthy goodness now.  At first I could really only taste the raw spinach, but now I only notice the varied other fruits I add in.  I add different stuff every smoothie, but here are the basics I put into every green smoothie:

• baby spinach
• pineapple
• banana
• golden flax meal

Today's green smoothie was -by far- the best.  It was also HUGE.  As in, half-a-pitcher kind of huge.  I only made it through half a batch, but it was stellar.  I added a little bit of everything I had lying about.  I drank 2 16-oz glasses and still had enough for another half glass at least.  So here's what I used this time:

• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1 cup fresh pineapple
• 2-3 TB flax meal
• 5 fresh cranberries
• 10 fresh raspberries
• 1/2 honeycrisp apple
• 1/2 large bartlett pear
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/4 cup So Delicious coconut milk
• handful ice
• 1/2 cup water

What are your favorite smoothies?

Chickpea Spinach Curry w/Tofu -- Vegan MOFO #27

This is actually a recipe I devised a few days ago, but I had my posts all lined up already, so I decided to squeeze it in as soon as I could.  It really turned out well.  I have, surprisingly, never made curried veggies before.  The day before I left to roadtrip it down to Nashville for T-giving, I found myself with a half-pound of baby spinach that I really didn't want to go to waste while I was gone.  So, I sent out yet another distress call to my vegan foodie pals on Twitter.  What on earth do I do with so much baby spinach?  Make a curry, Paul says.  So, I did.

Anyway, I made a curry.  So, here it is.  It's full of spicy goodness.  I served my curry up with some whole wheat couscous.  I'm not a fan of the super creamy curries, so I added only a little coconut milk, which I think helped to pull the whole dish together.  The measurements of spices in this curry are approximate because I kept adding more til I got it spicy enough.

This dish would easily serve 2-3 people as the main dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb or so of washed baby spinach
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 small tomato, seeded and diced (optional-- mine seemed to disappear while cooking, so whatever)
• 1/2 block of tofu, pressed and diced
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3/4 tsp madras curry powder
• 1/4 tsp red curry powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• salt & pepper to your tastes
• garlic powder or fresh garlic (I was out of fresh, so I used about 1/2 tsp of powdered garlic)
• 2 TB olive oil
• turmeric
• 1 1/2 cups cooked couscous, quinoa or brown rice

Method:

1.  In a nonstick skillet, drizzle 1 TB of the olive oil.  Set the burner to medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add your tofu, along with a sprinkle of turmeric, several dashes of cayenne and some yellow curry powder along with a smidge of salt and pepper.  Toss to coat the tofu then cook until it starts getting crispy around the edges.  Stir often to cook the tofu evenly.  I think it took me about 8 minutes or so.  Then set the cooked tofu aside.
2. Return the skillet to the burner.  Add the rest of the olive oil and saute your onions (and tomatoes, if using) until they are softened and translucent.  
3. Add the chickpeas and stir well.  Cook about 3 minutes.
4. Add the spinach on top of everything and cook until it wilts.  I think it took me about 5 minutes.  After 2 minutes, I started stirring the whole mix together.  After the spinach is wilted, add the coconut milk and turn the heat up to medium-high heat.  
5. Add in the spices and mix very well.  Let the milk cook down by at least half.  Then add in the tofu that you already cooked.  I tossed the curry a few times and let it simmer down until there was very little liquid in the pan.  Check your spices again and add more as desired.
6. Serve over some sort of starch -- I really liked it with the whole wheat couscous. 

Garlicky Chickpea Spinach Soup -- VeganMOFO #11

After searching the internet, specifically FoodGawker, I came across a delicious-looking recipe for a chickpea garlic soup on Needful Things's blog.  It looked a bit creamy, which actually scared me a little because the recipe called for cream.  Well, eating vegan means no cow's milk, which means no cream.  So, I sent out a distress call on Twitter and had an overwhelming response from numerous tweeters (I love my Twitter peeps!).  One in particular stood out: @EpicurVegan said to try coconut milk as a replacement, which was promptly seconded by a few other folks.  If Twitter pals say it, it must be true, right?

Like the original source for this soup recipe says, it's good for cleaning out your fridge!  I used up half a bunch of spinach that was headed south and a couple of Idaho potatoes from my fridge and some onion and garlic from my counter top.  Even better was the fact that I had a can of reduced fat coconut milk sitting in my cupboard waiting patiently to be used.  I bought it on a whim and never even thought about how I would use it.  So, it was perfect! 

I definitely altered the recipe in several ways, so I will post my version here.  I added quite a bit more spice because that's just how I roll.  I loooooove spices.  I also added more garlic and tahini.  Anywhoooo, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 yellow onion, diced or roughly chopped
• 2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 2 average-size Idaho potatoes, scrubbed and diced small (about 1/3 inch cubes)
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 TB cornstarch
• 2/3 cup reduced fat coconut milk
• 2 1/2 TB tahini
• 1/2 bunch of spinach - about 6-8 oz-, stems cut off and shredded (don't forget to wash very well!)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
• 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt

Method:

1. Heat oil over med-high heat in a stock pot or very large sauce pan.  I used an enameled cast iron stock pot.
2. After heating for 2 minutes, I added the onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until softened.  Then add your garlic and stir again.  Cook 1-2 minutes.
3. Add in the dry spices.  Stir.
4. Add the broth and potatoes.  Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes.  Then add in the chickpeas.  Cook another 5-ish minutes.  Check your potatoes.  You want them to be fork-tender.  Not hard, but not mush either.
5. In a bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, cornstarch and tahini.  Once it is all combined, stir the mixture into the soup and add the spinach.  Cook about 3-4 minutes so the soup thickens and the spinach wilts.  Check the flavor and add more spices as necessary.  I added a bit more garlic salt and a dash more cumin.  We ate ours with some garlic bread because nothing goes better with a garlicky soup than garlic bread!  The crust is perfect as a soup crouton. Enjoy!!