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.

Curry Power

Curry? Um, yes. I really can't ever say no to some tasty-ass curry, and you shouldn't either. 

Don't know what to make for dinner? Have veg that's about to go soft? Tired of the same old shit food? Time to make a fucking curry. You can add almost anything to curry in terms of veggies and spices. This recipe turned out to be one of my favorites and all I did was throw some random stuff together. 

Makes enough for 2 large dinner portions with some tasty jasmine rice.

What you need:

-2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 drained can)

-3 tomatoes roughly chopped

-1 large carrot cut into small dice

-1/2 red onion, cut into small slices or diced

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-1.5 cups raw cashews

-1 cup frozen peas

-1 TB  coconut oil

-2 TB favorite curry power - I'm too lazy to concoct my own

-1/4 to 1/2 tsp sumac (optional but recommended)

-salt and pepper

-fresh coriander/cilantro

-cooked rice

What you do:

1. Cook rice and set side in to keep warm until plating.

2. Heat your oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the carrots and cook 3-4 minutes. Add onions, and cook until transparent, about 6 minutes. Now stir in the minced garlic. Once the garlic becomes fragrant, turn heat down to medium.

3. Add the tomatoes to the pan, along with the spices. I covered my pan for about 10 minutes as the tomato cooked down. Once the tomatoes get soft, remove the lid.

4. Add the cashews and peas, and cook another 5-7 minutes as some of the liquid cooks off and the curry tightens up a bit. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed to fit your own twisted tastes.

5. Serve over the yummy rice and top with some fresh cilantro/coriander. 

Crockpot Lentil Bolognese

Alright, so here's the deal, dudes: we got 17 inches of snow last night, so I had a work snow day today. Fuck yeah! What did I do? Cooked the shit outta some food. Waffles for breakfast. Leftover curried lentil soup for lunch. And this spectacular dish for dinner. It was an experiment for sure. I never even thought about making pasta sauce in a crockpot before. What the hell is wrong with me?

I've not made homemade pasta sauce in so long, and I thought I would give it a shot in my crockpot. I had to get creative with my ingredients since I (literally) can't leave the house. There are nearly 2 feet of snow in the street so there's no way in hell I can go to the store! Soooooo, I improvised with a few things, like using lentils instead of tvp, english muffins for garlic toast, and I had no mushrooms (insert sad face). I worried it wouldn't turn out, but WOW. This is some of the best sauce I've ever had. And the lentils are insanely filling. I rocked this shit out.

I have a 5 or 6 quart crockpot, and set it to HIGH for this sauce. It took me about 4 hours to get it cooked down to where I wanted it to be. Your crock may take longer or less time.
This easily makes enough for 4 large servings over pasta.

What I used:

• 1- 28oz can crushed tomatoes 
• 2 cups veg broth or water
• 1-2 TBs Italian spice blend (mix of basil, parsley, oregano, and marjoram or something similar)
• 1/2 cup matchstick carrots, minced
• 1/2 diced bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 1 TB oil of your choice
• 4 cloves garlic, mined
• 1 cup dried lentils
• lots of pepper
• salt to taste
• dash of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp garlic powder (gimme a break...I love garlic) 
• 1/2 cup almond milk (takes out the metalic bitterness of the canned tomatoes)

What I did:

1. Set the crock pot to HIGH. Add the tomatoes.
2. In a skillet, heat the oil. Once hot, add the onions and carrots. After the onions turn translucent, add the garlic and cook another 4 minutes. Add the veg to the crockpot. 
3. Add the broth, lentils, and spices and stir well. Cover with lid and cook for about 4 hours. Just be sure to stir it about once an hour. Just before the sauce reaches the 4 hour mark, I stirred in the almond milk and cooked about 15 minutes longer. It kills that metallic taste of canned tomatoes. Depending on how thick you like the sauce, you may need to add a bit more broth. I like it thick, so I didn't add any extra.  

ENJOY!

Apple Cinnamon Topped Pancakes of Awesomeness

 

There comes a time in every girl's life when she screams to the heavens, "I need some fucking pancakes!" Hormones, or whatever. I don't know. I just know I heeded the call of the wild and made some killer fucking pancakes. 

I've never made an apple topping for pancakes or waffles, or any food, actually. But, I do love me some apple pie, so I took that idea and ran with it. 

The following recipe makes enough for 2 adult-sized servings of apple topping. I don't have a fancy recipe for the pancakes; I use Bisquick, almond milk, and a little vanilla extract. 

What you need for the apple awesomeness:

• 2 HoneyCrisp apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (so they cook more quickly)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 TB Earth Balance vegan spread
• 2 TB orange juice
• 1/4-1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1 tsp (or more) cinnamon
• pinch of salt

What you do with it:

1. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat. Add all ingredients and mix well. 
2. Once the mixture starts bubbling, I turned the heat to medium-low and simmered for about 30 minutes. Be sure to stir and taste the mixture every 5 minutes or so, so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. 
   
3. I cooked mine until the sauce cooked down to a syrup. Feel free to add more or less of everything. I liked mine pretty cinnamon-y, but if at all possible, add the cardamom. It really brings the flavor to a whole new level. 

Savory Chickpea Crepes - 1st attempt

Let me start by saying that I have never eaten a crepe in my entire life...vegan or not. So, I had no idea how thick to make the batter. These ended up somewhere between a crepe and a pancake in their thickness. Seeing how much I love pancakes anyway, I wasn't disappointed.

I'm that weird person who eats her regular pancakes without syrup, preferring a more savory flavor. That was my inspiration for trying to make a savory (and spicy) crepe. So, I suppose I should maybe try calling these pancakes since they were thicker than a crepe. Whatever. The whole point is that these turned out so deliciously that I had to share them with you. I am trying to think of some sort of sauce to use with them, but I'm coming up dry. I did, however, use some mint chutney (just a smidge), and it was tasty.

I will definitely be trying these again, thinning the batter out a little bit to see if I can make them more crepe-like in their density. Regardless, make these. They are delicious.

Makes 4 pancakes/crepes/whatever about 4 inches in diameter

What I used:

• 1/2 cup chickpea flour (also called besan flour)
• 2/3 cup water or slightly less
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 cup minced red onion
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 TB fresh cilantro, minced (or 1 TB dried)
• 2 tsp Earth Balance

What I did:

• Mix together the flour and water in a bowl until it's mostly lump-free. Add in the other ingredients (except the Earth Balance) and mix well. 
• Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add in 1/2 tsp of the Earth Balance.
• Once the butter melts, pour 1/4 cup of the chickpea mixture to the pan. When it starts to get air bubbles and the edges look dry, flip the pancake and cook another 2 minutes. 
• Repeat until all the butter and batter are used up.

Buffalo Chik'n Salad

I've never been a huge fan of salads, but I'm always up for a challenge, so I decided that I need to work on that. Enter: buffalo chik'n salad. In the words of a ridiculously-annoying-piece-of-shit-actor, "WINNING!" I have made this salad 3 times in the last week, so I think that says something.

I'm a recent fan of buffalo sauce, as I always thought I wouldn't like it. I tasted it once about a month ago, and I try to use it every chance I get. I use the bottled stuff, which appears to be much lower in calories than if I'd made it myself. The brand I got has 5 calories per tablespoon, so that's not bad at all. You can do the (chicken) chik'n a couple different ways, but I chose to brush the sauce onto the patty in between flippings. You can also cook the chik'n, and coat it in sauce at the end. I've done it both ways, but I like the first method better. It seems to allow the flavor of the sauce to cook into the chik'n better.

As for salad dressing, that's up to you. I prefer to blend a little vegan ranch with a tiny bit of avocado and drizzle it over the salad. It was awesome. But, you can do whatever your little heart desires.

Serves 2 as a main

What I used:

• 2 Gardein Crispy Chik'n Filets
• 3-4 TB bottled buffalo sauce
• 1 tsp grapeseed oil
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 3-4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1/4-1/3 cup red onion, diced

What I did:

1. Heat a grill pan (or non-stick skillet) over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Once hot, add the chik'n filets. Cook about 3 minutes, then flip. Cook another 3 minutes, then carefully brush some buffalo sauce on the tops. 
2. Turn heat down a bit to medium. Use tongs to very carefully flip your chik'n filets over. They will sizzle and pop. It's supposed to. Now, brush the top with sauce. After about 2 minutes, flip the filets again. I end up flipping the filets a couple times, brushing sauce on each time.
3. Carefully transfer the chik'n to a cutting board and slice into strips.
4. Get 2 plates and toss together the lettuce and spinach equally on each plate. Top it with the onions and tomatoes and then add the chik'n strips on top. Dress however you want.

Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower

Fuck Yes! I finally went there. I've had deep-fried, breaded buffalo cauliflower, and absolutely loved it. But, being a chickpea who's afraid to deep fry (long story), I decided to take a "healthier" (see: safer) method to pig out on my favorite sauce and one of my very favorite veggies. For the record, this whole plate pictured above, including the avocado, is only 187 calories. It's 3 cups of cauliflower, about 3 TB of bottled buffalo sauce, and 1/3 of a small avocado.

If you look online, you'll find an assload of recipes for buffalo cauliflower, each more fancy and complicated than the next. I'm here to assure you that this is the easiest. It took zero effort. It's fucking healthy. You'll thank me.

The batch I made was intended for a whole meal for 1 person. So, I'm not giving you an exact recipe. Just do the following and you'll do just fine.

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet (I used a silicone mat, but you could definitely use parchment).
2. Put cauliflower in a bowl.
3. Pour buffalo sauce on cauliflower and flip it around to coat the cauli.
4. Pour the cauli onto the baking sheet.
5. Place baking sheet in oven and cook for 25 minutes, stirring once about halfway through cooking. 
6. Pig the fuck out.

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. 

Quinoa Avocado Toast

I've been on this big quinoa kick lately. I've discovered that I really love it, and not just "like" it. This is kind of a big deal. Like many people, I've been trying to move toward a healthier plant-based diet, as opposed to the way I had been eating. I have always been a sucker for the vegan convenience foods, and I'm trying to cut down on my processed food and increase my whole foods. And quinoa is really helping me get away from pasta and rice because it's packed with protein and fiber, along with some important nutrients. So, yeah, I'm digging it. It keeps me nice and full, which is great for me and keeps me from snacking on junk between meals. This breakfast has become my new favorite lately.

My pudgy little tootsies need a new pedicure.

I also just decided to give sprouted grain bread a chance. I've always been a fan of wheat and multi-grain breads, but this bread rocks! It's dense, but not too dense. It's a bit chewy and has a slightly nutty flavor that goes exceptionally well with the quinoa, which also has a nutty flavor. Back when I could eat nuts (and not break out in hives), I would toast up almonds and add them to quinoa for a bit of crunch. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it. But, now I'm a jealous bitch because you can eat nuts and I can't. Wow, that sounds naughty, but I didn't mean it that way. Get your head outta the gutter, foo!

Okay, so, here's how I made this delicious breakfast of awesomeness:
Serves 2.

What I used:

• 2 slices sprouted grain bread
• 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup water
• 4 slices tomato
• 2/3 medium-size avocado, mashed
• Herbamare seasoning

What I did:

1. Bring water to a boil in a small pot with lid. Once it's bubbling, stir in the quinoa. Cover pot with lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium or medium low and let simmer 15 minutes. Fluff with fork.
2. In a bowl, mix mashed avocado with quinoa and season with a little Herbamare. 
3. Toast the bread. 
4. Slather the quinoa/avocado on the toast and then top with tomatoes. 
5. CHOW DOWN

This breakfast came at the suggestion of my very dear pal, Nicole of Nicole Eats. She's a tremendous inspiration in my cooking. Love ya, lady!

Zesty Quinoa

 

Dudes! This dish started out as a recipe from Eat Vegan, Get Healthy by Neal Barnard, and I changed it up a bit and it ROCKED. It is so stinking healthy, I could die....of awesome. Paired up with a quarter of an avocado, it became my very favorite quinoa dish ever. I've always "kind-of" liked quinoa, but never loved it. This dish may have changed all that. I cut the recipe in half, so it made 2 servings. It was so incredibly filling, and here I am hours later still feeling pleasantly full. That's some badassery right there.

So, here's the recipe with my changes. The original was meant to be served cold, but I prefer hot. Do what you want, dudes.

Serves 2 as a main dish.

What I used:

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 TB dried mint
• 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 3 TB fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1 TB agave nectar
• 2 TB dijon mustard
• herbamare seasoning and pepper to your tastes
• chopped cilantro to garnish
• avocado to garnish

What I did:

1. Put the water in a small pot over high heat and put the lid on. Once boiling, stir in the quinoa and mint, and cover. Lower heat to medium or medium-low and cook about 10 minutes. 
2. Add the onion, bell pepper, edamame, herbamare and pepper. Stir, and replace the lid. Cook another 5 minutes. 
3. In a small bowl, mix together the lime juice, agave and dijon mustard. Pour it into the quinoa and mix well. Leave the lid off, and cook another 5 minutes or so. 
4. Serve in bowls and garnish with the cilantro and avocado. Boom! You're done. Pig out time.

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

Curried Lentil Soup - OMFG!

One of my super-close foodie-vegan-blogger friends, Nicole, posted this recipe recently and I knew with 100% certainty that I had to make it. I knew it was going to blow my mind. I was completely right. This soup is fucking amazing. The recipe is perfect in every single way. The only problem I encountered was that I didn't have any celery because I almost never have it around the house. But, it was still so incredibly wonderful that it just doesn't even matter. Make this shit, dudes. You won't regret it.

Nicole's Curried Lentil Soup

What you need:

• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 quart vegetable broth or water
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 peeled carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced (which I didn't have, but the soup was mind-blowing anyway)
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 4 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp dried chili powder (optional, but I seriously recommend it)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Sautee onion, carrots, celery and garlic in oil for 2 minutes. It should look like this:

2. Add parsley, basil and curry powder and sautee for an additional 2 minutes
   — add chili powder here if you’re using it. Like this:

3. Add broth, salt, lentils and tomatoes and bring to a boil, like so:


4. Reduce to low and simmer until lentils are cooked, about 40 minutes— you may need to add a little extra water/broth (I added about 1 1/4 cups water later in the cooking). Here's what mine looked like when it had cooked down to perfection:

5. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and a dollop of vegan sour cream and enjoy! (I only used cilantro, and it was incredibly tasty). Check it out:

Here's a random delicious photo:

This soup makes carrots happy!

You definitely should check out Nicole's rocking blog and make some of her fantastic food. She's my foodie crush.

Rice Salad - VeganMoFo #4

Rice Salad. Never had it before. So, I invented it. It was pretty good, too. I am known for my pasta salad among my social circle, and I wanted to try something new. I pretty much just made my pasta salad with rice instead of pasta. Don't ask me why because I really don't know.

It all started with some leftover white rice and some raw veggies in the fridge. Add in some spices and some vinaigrette and kapow! You have rice salad. Don't eat it cold out of the fridge or else the rice will be hard. I used cold rice, then let it warm to room temperature. PS- mine turned pink from the purple carrots I microplaned.

What I used:

• 2 cups leftover white rice
• 1/3 cup minced red onion
• 1/3 cup minced bell pepper
• 1 medium purple carrot (or orange), microplaned or grated
• vinaigrette of your choosing, I usually wing it and make my own on the fly
• salt and pepper
• pinch of coriander powder
• garlic powder or very finely minced garlic clove

What you do:

1. Mix everything together in a bowl and adjust your seasonings as needed. 
2. Cover with lid or plastic wrap and let sit out at room temp for 1 hour. If you are making it ahead, cover and put in the fridge. Then let set out 1 hour before serving. You want room-temperature rice.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies - VeganMoFo #3

 

Craving sweets lately? You're not alone. The cooler Autumn weather makes me crave the comforts of my childhood, like mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and yes, COOKIES. Who doesn't love cookies, really? I prefer my chocolate chip cookies kind of simple and with lots of toasted walnuts. Don't like nuts? That's just wrong.

Here's a trick I learned a long time ago to really make your cookies rock: toast your nuts before you add them to the dough. I lay mine out on a cookie sheet and bake them at 375 for about 6 minutes. Then remove them from the oven and set out for a few minutes to cool. Kapow! Your nuts are toasty.

So, depending on the size of your cookie scoops, this makes close to 2 dozen. I used a 2-TB scoop and it yielded 18 cookies.

What I used:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup room temp vegan butter
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 egg substitute (I used Ener-G egg replacer)
• 1 cup plus 3 TB flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 bag chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (optional, but recommended)

What I did:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. I toasted my nuts while I made my cookie dough.
2. Using a stand mixer or a hand beater, cream together the sugars, vanilla, and the butter until well mixed and sort of creamy looking.
3. Add in the egg, flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until combined with no dry spots. 
4. Fold in the chocolate chips and the walnuts, if using. 
5. Scoop out onto a baking sheet covered in parchment or a silicone mat. If lining with foil, you may want to very lightly spritz the foil with cooking spray. I kept mine about 2-3 inches apart because they will spread out some. If you like a flatter cookie, you may want to smoosh the scoops down just a bit before baking.
6. Bake for 7-11 minutes, until golden around the edges and still soft in the middle (soft,but not raw). Then remove from oven and leave on pan to cool about 5-10 minutes. If you like a crispier/crunchier cookie then,by all means, bake them longer. We just prefer a crispy edge with a chewy interior here.

Chickpea Salad on Crackers - VeganMoFo #2

Chickpea salad is the shit. You should probably make some. It's insane on crackers. It's killer on toast. Hell, it's great on a spoon. No matter how you eat it, I assure you that you'll dig it. One can of chickpeas makes enough for 2 sandwiches or an entire sleeve of crackers. It will keep for at least 24 hours in the fridge, but I can't imagine that it will even last that long. Be warned: chickpea salad is insanely addictive.

I have made this so many different ways, but the following is my basic version. Add whatever you want: celery, seaweed, whatever. Go forth and create food!

What you need:

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2-3 Tb vegan mayo (I prefer Vegenaise)
• 1 TB mustard
• 1 dill pickle spear, chopped (also good with a spicy dill spear)
• 1 tsp pickle juice
• 2-3 TB minced red onion
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce or aminos
• salt and pepper
• pinch of fresh dill (optional)
• 2 TB sunflower seeds (optional)

What you do:

1. Pile everything into your food processor and whir it until it reaches a consistency you dig. Adjust your seasoning and chow down.

Smoothie from My Garden

Okay, so the title of this post is a tad misleading. It's not 100% from my garden, but it is mostly stuff I grew. I grew the carrots, kale, and strawberries, but not the orange or banana. Sorry, but the harsh Michigan winters prohibit such fruits. That is your geography/science lesson for the day. This smoothie is seriously awesome. It tastes like magic. Or maybe it's just that I haven't made a smoothie in weeks. Whatever the case, it is still pretty damn yummy...and (gasp) good for you!

What you need:

• 1 banana
• 1 small seedless orange, peeled
• about 6 strawberries (average sized)
• about 6 smallish kale leaves with the thick stems removed
• 2 small carrots or 1 medium
• a few bits of ice

What you do:

1. Do I really need to tell you how to throw everything in the blender and blend the shit out of it? Nah. I didn't think so.

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.

Curry-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower

This was my dinner tonight. A massive bowl of roasted curry-spiced cauliflower. It was spectacular. Like, for real. Ever have those days where you don't much feel like cooking? Yeah, me too. That was today. This holiday weekend was busy, busy, busy! I went to a couple Detroit Tigers games and watched them sweep the Chicago White Sox. I suppose you could call me a late bloomer in enjoying baseball, despite growing up with my entire extended family being rabid baseball fans. Speaking of baseball, did you Michigan veggie peeps know that Comerica Park serves vegan and vegetarian goodies at their Brushfire Grill snack bar? Hummus and veggies, veggie dogs, veggie burgers, black bean burgers and vegetarian sausages all make appearances at Brushfire. Kind of cool, if you ask me. So, beside going to a couple games, I've spent a lot of time reading (I'm a librarian after all) and cooking, and reading cookbooks. It was kind of the perfect weekend, if you ask me.

Back to the cauliflower. I got a head of cauliflower a couple days ago at my local farmer's market for $1 and knew I needed to get it used today, so I heated up my oven and started chopping it into large-ish florets. Suddenly, the fucking lightbulb went on in my head; I needed to add some curry powder. I love cauliflower (especially roasted) and I love curry spices, so this couldn't possibly go wrong. Right?

In case you were wondering, I was right. I ate the whole head of it. Don't hate me because I'm hungry.

What you need:

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into large florets
• 1-2 tsp curry powder of your choosing
• Oil (I used some melted coconut oil)
• salt and pepper

What you do with it:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. 
2. Put cauliflower into a large bowl, drizzle with  coconut oil and sprinkle with curry powder. Use a serving spoon and stir to coat the cauliflower with oil and curry powder. It should look like this:

3. Spread cauli on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the veg and pop it in the oven for 15 minutes. 
4. At the 15 minute mark, remove from the oven and use tongs to flip the florets over. Cook another 12 minutes, or until you're happy with the texture and caramelization.

Spaghetti and Balls

I've been so busy lately that the blog has been neglected. I do apologize for that. Things are calming down again and I should be able to start cooking more. As an act of good faith, I have decided to share my latest attempt at pasta sauce with you. It is quite yummy. And garlicky. And goes perfectly with The Sexy Vegan's Balls (pictured above). The balls are nutty and moist....all the things a ball should be. Haha. But, really, they are quite delicious. The recipe is not mine to share and can be found in his cookbook.

I had an abundance of tomatoes that were on the verge of going to veggie heaven, so I decided to attempt another marinara sauce. I never remember what all I put in it the last time I made it, so it always turns out differently. This one turned out even more different because my sweet basil died and the only fresh basil I had was Thai basil (it has a slight licorice flavor). It turned out much better than I had anticipated. In fact, we scarfed all the sauce up in one fell swoop. No leftovers made for a sad chickpea the next day.

Serves 2-3 people

• 6-ish tomatoes (I had 3 large romas, 1 regular, and 2 medium-size orange ones)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 TB olive oil (I started with 2 and kept adding it as needed)
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• a palmful of fresh basil leaves, maybe about 1/4 cup, then minced
•  2 TB fresh parsley, minced
• Parmela vegan parmesan substitute, at least a couple TB
•  1/4-1/2 tsp dried oregano, depending on your tastes. I used 1/4 as I don't particularly love it.
• salt and pepper
• 1 TB sugar
• 1/4 cup almond milk (sounds weird, but helped in combatting the acidity of the tomatoes)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Add the tomatoes to an oven-safe dish and lightly coat with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and roast for about an hour. Once they are soft and getting some browned spots, go ahead and remove from the oven. Let them cool down a bit before handling them. 
2. In a skillet, heat 1-2 TB olive oil over medium heat. Once it is hot, add the onion and cook until softened. Then add in the garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant and is soft. Turn down the heat to low. 
3. Take your tomatoes, a smidge of olive oil, the fresh herbs, sugar and milk and blend it up in your food processor until it is to your liking in terms of chunkiness. Now add this to the skillet and let cook together for at least 10 minutes. I added in the vegan parm and let it cook another 4-5 minutes. Adjust your seasonings and you're done.

Herbed Cashew Ricotta

Every once in a while I get a craving for ricotta cheese, but being cruelty-free, I don't indulge in dairy. I can't find any vegan ricotta in a 50-mile radius, so I decided to try and make my own version using cashews. If you haven't already tried it, raw cashews can make an astounding number of sauces and cheeses. I made a mayo-like creation with them as well as an alfredo sauce with them, both of which were spectacular. For this ricotta, I decided to add some herbs and use it for pasta with onion, garlic, and sauteed zucchini. SO GOOD! Dudes, you should totally give cashew ricotta a chance.

This makes a little over a cup of ricotta, depending how much water and fresh lemon juice you add.

What I used:

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours
• fresh lemon juice - I used juice of 1 whole lemon, adding a little at a time and tasting often
• fresh herbs to your liking (I used basil, dill and flat-leaf parsley
• 1 small fresh clove of garlic (optional) 
• 1tsp olive oil
• salt
• a little water to loosen up the cashew ricotta in the blender

What I did:

1. Drain and rinse off your soaked cashews. Add them to your blender or food processor. 
2. Add a couple TB of fresh herbs and the garlic(if using). Squeeze some lemon juice in and a splash of water. Whir until the cashews are mostly creamed with a little texture remaining. 
3. Taste and adjust salt, lemon and herbs as needed. It should look something like this:

I let mine sit in the fridge, covered, for about an hour and the flavor got even better. Now, you can add it to an awesome dish, like this: