VOTE! Virtual Vegan Potluck: Peanut Soba Noodle Salad

UPDATE: The potluck is over, but the voting for faves just started! Below find my entry in the Virtual Vegan Potluck then click on over to cast your vote for Veg Bon Vivant for salad winner!

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I’m part of a GLOBAL plant-based potluck today. Doesn’t that sound super impressive? Over 170 of my virtual vegan friends have committed to participation in Virtual Vegan Potluck, a twice-a-year, orderly, and yummy way to expose their blog followers to new recipes and new vegan blogs. I am so excited about the blogroll itself I can hardly stand it. New reading! My “dish to pass” is a salad. A tried and true salad that never has leftovers and leaves everyone shocked that they just ate Thai food. Hey, eat more veggies while you are at it.

I relish all of the different flavor combinations that comprise regional foods and on occasion I like to make up my own recipes from the most awesome parts of other recipes.  I love peanut sauce in Thai restaurants; however it is not good for you. At. All. I modified a recipe I found online cutting out the non-veg ingredients, pinched a little of the fat (bye-bye oil) and yet maintained a “dressing” consistency suitable for a salad instead of satay duty. Paired with a few of my fave salad ingredients including the beloved soba noodle, I dropped in a spicy protein too to give you a delightfully filling and portable salad that could hold its own at a REAL potluck. Hello summer!

Peanut Dressing:

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
• 1 T tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tsp to 1 T chopped, ground, or pre-chopped ginger (test along the way)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
• drizzle of toasted sesame oil (keep it to less than a tsp)
• big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or 1 tsp-1T of hot sauce, your choice
• 1/4-1/2 cup hot water

Salad:

• 1 package soba noodles prepared according to package instructions
• 2 carrots, peeled, grated
• 4 radishes, chopped
• 1 head napa cabbage, shredded
• 1/4 C crushed peanuts or cashews, toasted
• a handful of bean spouts per salad

Mix dressing ingredients together in the food processor, let set 10-20 minutes to develop in flavor intensity, reserve 1/4 C dressing for topping salad.  Shred cabbage, toss with chopped radishes and grated carrot, mound in 3-4 salad bowls.  Toss soba noodles in the peanut sauce until coated nicely, divide and add to cabbage salad, top with 1/4 C reserved dressing and crushed peanuts or cashews and fresh bean spouts.  Serve immediately.

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Well you know how a potluck works right? So that was JUST my dish to pass, scoot on over to the next blog for another delish salad and start filling up that plate! Just make sure you save room for dessert….I went through the blogroll today and down the line are some vegan desserts you will not want to miss!

Click “go forward” for the next salad from Yum for Tum or depending on how you found this post, you might have missed the one before me at Mojo Central. Happy potluck!

Pictured with salad ginger/garlic/soy marinated baked tofu (recipe below):

• 1 package extra firm tofu, drained, sliced in half (thickness wise) and pressed (after pressing 20-30 minutes, cut into pieces about the size of a pinky finger-sorry, that’s kinda gross!)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 C soy sauce
• 2 inches ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

Marinate tofu in mixture of the ingredients above for 30 minutes to overnight. Bake tofu on a foil lined, lightly greased, rimed baking sheet at 375 or grilled until firm in texture, turning every 5-10 minutes.  Serve with the salad.

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Peanut Soba Noodle Salad

I’m part of a GLOBAL plant-based potluck today. Doesn’t that sound super impressive? Over 170 of my virtual vegan friends have committed to participation in Virtual Vegan Potluck, a twice-a-year, orderly, and yummy way to expose their blog followers to new recipes and new vegan blogs. I am so excited about the blogroll itself I can hardly stand it. New reading! My “dish to pass” is a salad. A tried and true salad that never has leftovers and leaves everyone shocked that they just ate Thai food. Hey, eat more veggies while you are at it.

I relish all of the different flavor combinations that comprise regional foods and on occasion I like to make up my own recipes from the most awesome parts of other recipes.  I love peanut sauce in Thai restaurants; however it is not good for you. At. All. I modified a recipe I found online cutting out the non-veg ingredients, pinched a little of the fat (bye-bye oil) and yet maintained a “dressing” consistency suitable for a salad instead of satay duty. Paired with a few of my fave salad ingredients including the beloved soba noodle, I dropped in a spicy protein too to give you a delightfully filling and portable salad that could hold its own at a REAL potluck. Hello summer!

Peanut Dressing:

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
• 1 T tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tsp to 1 T chopped, ground, or pre-chopped ginger (test along the way)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
• drizzle of toasted sesame oil (keep it to less than a tsp)
• big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or 1 tsp-1T of hot sauce, your choice
• 1/4-1/2 cup hot water

Salad:

• 1 package soba noodles prepared according to package instructions
• 2 carrots, peeled, grated
• 4 radishes, chopped
• 1 head napa cabbage, shredded
• 1/4 C crushed peanuts or cashews, toasted
• a handful of bean spouts per salad

Mix dressing ingredients together in the food processor, let set 10-20 minutes to develop in flavor intensity, reserve 1/4 C dressing for topping salad.  Shred cabbage, toss with chopped radishes and grated carrot, mound in 3-4 salad bowls.  Toss soba noodles in the peanut sauce until coated nicely, divide and add to cabbage salad, top with 1/4 C reserved dressing and crushed peanuts or cashews and fresh bean spouts.  Serve immediately.

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Well you know how a potluck works right? So that was JUST my dish to pass, scoot on over to the next blog for another delish salad and start filling up that plate! Just make sure you save room for dessert….I went through the blogroll today and down the line are some vegan desserts you will not want to miss!

Click “go forward” for the next salad from Yum for Tum or depending on how you found this post, you might have missed the one before me at Mojo Central. Happy potluck!

Pictured with salad ginger/garlic/soy marinated baked tofu (recipe below):

• 1 package extra firm tofu, drained, sliced in half (thickness wise) and pressed (after pressing 20-30 minutes, cut into pieces about the size of a pinky finger-sorry, that’s kinda gross!)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 C soy sauce
• 2 inches ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

Marinate tofu in mixture of the ingredients above for 30 minutes to overnight. Bake tofu on a foil lined, lightly greased, rimed baking sheet at 375 or grilled until firm in texture, turning every 5-10 minutes.  Serve with the salad.

Mint Chocolate No Bake Cookie Bites

I do a lot of reading. For school, for work, for fun, I’ve always liked reading. Sometimes I read a recipe and it bypasses the bookmark function and gets me straight away into the kitchen, particularly when I have all the ingredients on hand and want to eat cookies. I mean really, when I want to eat cookies. I’m a big fan of no bake items particularly those that don’t require chemistry to work and you can kind of “eye-ball” the measurements. When these didn’t come together just as planned with the original recipe I improvised a little with the natural sweetness of maple syrup and a few extra dates. I dare you to eat just one.

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 12-16 medjool pitted dates
• 3 T dark cocoa powder
• 2-4 T nondairy milk
• 1/4-1/2 tsp peppermint extract 
• 1 tsp maple syrup

Dough should just stick together out of the food processor

A perfect scoop

Use a scoop to portion out the dough

Roll into balls after you measure out the dough

Nondairy milk, dates and cocoa powder

In a food processor mix the cashews and oats until they are a powdery consistency. Then add the dates, cocoa powder, 2 T milk and peppermint extract and mix until a dough starts to form. If the dough looks dry, add a bit more milk. Roll into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Set in the fridge to firm up. I got 25 bites out of my batch using a small pampered chef scoop to form the cookie bites.

Adapted from My Whole Food Life

Wanted: Vegan Sandwiches

In a recent poll of the Wonderful residence…we miss sandwiches. Two recipes to fix that situation follow for bread spreads. These taste equally as good on crackers or straight from the bowl around midnight. I mean if you say had a hunger pang in the night.

From Happy Herbivore (pictured):

“Tuna Salad”

• 15 oz chickpeas (canned or from dry) rinsed and drained
• 2 celery stalks, washed and diced
• 1 – 2 T pickle relish or sliced pickles
• 1 tsp onion flakes or powder
• 2 T nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 T low sodium soy sauce or Tamari
• 3 T vegan mayo (I used half and still had great consistency)
• 1/2 tsp kelp powder (this is the “fishy” salty flavoring)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice 
• pepper and salt to taste

I deviated  a little from the original instructions provided as I like a specific texture of spread. Mash chickpeas in a large mixing bowl OR pulse 3-4 times in a food processor-do not puree, or make hummus instead, you can’t really go wrong here I guess. Dice celery into bite sized pieces. Chop up pickles into small dice too. Add all ingredients to the large bowl, stir, stir, stir. Add more mayo or kelp as needed to taste.

“Tuna” Salad

Courtesy of Jon Dunn at VeganGR:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 2-3 T Vegenaise
• 1-2 T sweet pickle relish or pickle chopped
• salt pepper to taste
• 1/2 t dulse or kelp granules or other “fishy” seasoning (optional)

Send chickpeas through a couple of pulses in food processor (can be done by hand by the less lazy). Mix blended peas with the Vegenaise, sweet pickle and seasonings. EAT ON ANYTHING.

**note – all of the following ingredients are really to personal taste. Some people like green onion, mustard, or all sorts of other stuff in their tuna salad. Basically, you’re following whatever recipe you would with tuna, but using chickpeas instead.

Roasted Veg Mini Pizzas

Shocked that I might be full after just half of this serving size. I continued to eat of course until I was stuffed of this goodness. Another yummy Happy Herbivore meal plan recipe that will now be a weekly staple at the Wonderful residence: Roasted Veg Mini Pizzas (serves 1)

• 2 whole-wheat Pita Pockets
• 1/2 C marinara sauce
• 1 C zucchini
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 1/2 T nutritional yeast or vegan parm
• sliced black olives (optional)

Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over the top of each pita. Not too much or you will just have soggy bread, icky. Top with squash, tomato and onion. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes (check at 5) until everything is warmed and browning slightly. I placed my pitas directly on the oven rack to get a crispy “crust.” Sprinkle with olives, nutritional yeast, or vegan parm (shown in photos). Don’t forget the Frank’s Red Hot!

418 calories for 2 pita pizzas, 4.8g fat, 77g carbs, 24g fiber, 20g sugars, 30g protein.

Chana Palak Masala – Easy for YOU to say!

I talked about the Happy Herbivore meal plans a few weeks ago in a post and I will again sing the praises that just $19.00 a month can bring you a little more peace into a crazed life by just telling you what to do and when to do it. I often like it when there is ONE area of life I don’t have to make yet another decision during they day and Lindsay Nixon is my beacon of hope in that regard.

Sometimes I look at a recipe in the meal plan and think, how in the world will that taste good? Fortunately I’m kinda brave and will mostly eat anything, this recipe surprised me at 1) how few calories it has, 2) how filling it is, 3) it really is delicious and 4) you can eat take-out like food at home in under 30 minutes.

Enough of my blabbering, here’s the recipe (2 servings):

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 oz peeled whole or diced tomatoes (canned)
• 15 oz chickpeas (canned), drained and rinsed
• 10 oz frozen baby spinach (fresh okay too)
• 1 C low sodium veg broth or water
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp mild curry powder
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger (or double it with fresh)
• dash of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp lemon juice (optional, but use it…it makes it better)
• 1 tsp garam masala

Make magic:

In a large pot, saute’ onions and garlic with a few tablespoons of water, instead of oil. Once the onion is translucent, add spinach, chickpeas, tomatoes with juices and broth. Cover and cook over medium until the spinach cooks down [I used frozen and didn't drain and it came out fine]. Uncover and break up tomato bits. Add all spices except garam masala, add lemon juice at this point. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 garam masala and cook for 2 more minutes more. Taste, adding additional garam masala if desired plus salt and pepper if needed. Turn heat off and allow to sit for 5 or so minutes. The dish will thicken as it stands. Start to finish, this took me about 30 minutes. I served about 1/4 of this recipe over brown rice.

Per serving: 283 calories, 58g carbs, 3g fat, 10g fiber, 7g sugar, 12g protein

Lost an hour? Gain a few back.

Forget about Daylight Savings Time. The Happy Herbivore, Lindsay Nixon, fellow chickpea lover, has found a way to give you back a few hours of your week. Previously, I would spend a few hours a week, typically either on a Sunday as a diligent planner, or via freaking out when I get home from work worrying about what will go on the grocery list, or what I will cook for dinner, etc. The Happy Herbivore has eliminated the planning, digging, guessing, grocery list making, contemplating out of my weekly food equation with 7-Day meal Plans.

With this service, which is around $20.00 a month, I get a pdf link weekly with a calendar for meals, all the recipes in one place, a premade grocery list, calorie counts for all food consumed, and suggested snack ideas. Each day falls into the 1,200 calorie range so you can add snacks or decrease snacks as needed and the meals are interchangable with other weeks and other meals. She does a pretty good job of recycling ingredients through the week in different ways so you don’t feel like you are always eating say quinoa in the same way. Today for example, we ate quinoa for breakfast in chocolate *pudding* form with blueberries. Even I was skeptical, and I spend most of my waking life thinking about what I am going to next eat. Turns out, taking the thinking portion out of food is what I need during this part of life. I sometimes don’t want to make another decision that day which typically translates into take-out which is not good for my weight OR my checking account.

The Happy Herbivore has cookbooks too of course, so you could pull out a recipe and swap it for another if you so choose. At any rate. I’d be happy to share a week with you if you are scared of the initial investment-just leave me a comment including your email address below and I’ll send it out to you. Just one per person though, I want this service to continue and for that to happen, Lindsay has to be compensated for her time. I’m sure you will find, it’s worth all $18.88 per month to regain a few extra hours a week and a plan after you try.

I mixed the maple and cocoa together before I dumped it into the quinoa.

Blueberries and extra maple for Mr. Wonderful

Quinoa takes on a pudding like consistency.

The texture took a second to catch on in our house. But the taste helped us get over that fast.

Curious what Chocolate Espresso Quinoa Pudding is? Try it.

• 1/4 C quinoa (rinsed)
• 3/4 C unsweetened chocolate almond milk
• 1 1/2 T pure maple syrup
• 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder (I mixed 1/2 special dark and 1/2 regular)
• 1/8 tsp espresso powder
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)

In a saucepan, combine quinoa, chocolate milk and espresso. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer until quinoa is cooked and fluffy, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in maple syrup, vanilla, and cocoa [I made a quick paste of this before putting into quinoa], plus another splash of chocolate milk. Taste, add more maple syrup if you need it a little sweeter. Top with fresh fruit. Serve warm.

Garlic OCD

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I might judge you if you don’t cut off the little dry nubs at the end of the garlic cloves before using…so you probably should. I’ve always had this hangup, this thing, this annoyance with garlic. When it comes right off the bulb, the little clove has one delightful and beautiful smooth side and then this incredibly gross, haggard, dry, crackled side that makes me hate it. I cut that piece off every, single, time. You should too-it creeps me out.

 

Ceci-Roasted Red Pepper Soup

New Year’s Eve is for two things:  1) resolution making and 2) drinking, heavily.  The day after your first thought:  1) resolving to not EVER drink again….like for real this time, ever.  Right?  So for your hangover cure I did a little research and decided that one of my fave soups can be your cure for what you overdo on NYE.

Nutrient-rich foods that are good to eat with a hangover are bananas, red peppers, broccoli, nuts, and oats. A banana smoothie is an excellent choice, as it acts as a natural antacid as well as replenishing vitamins and minerals. To make one, blend together one ripe banana, one a half cups of nondairy milk, and two tablespoons of honey or agave (for those of you that are strict vegan).

This soup is great.  Protein, vitamins, sits on stove all day without getting icky so you can eat when you get that small window of opportunity when you feel “better” than you did when you woke up at Noon.  Tastes excellent with saltines…see, it’s like perfect.  Take care.

• 2 large red bell peppers
• 1 medium size onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. rosemary, dried
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• black pepper, to taste
• 2 c. tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 3 c. vegetable broth
• 1 (15oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Cut out the stems of the peppers and discard along with the seeds. Stand the peppers in a small baking pan to roast the peppers for 35-50 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and let cool, additionally, I removed the skin, then cut into bite-sized pieces.
4. Saute the onion in a large pot in very little oil (or none at all if you like) for 5 minutes until translucent.
5. Add garlic, rosemary, salt, and black pepper to pot and saute for another minute.
6. Mix in tomatoes (canned are okay here too, let’s be honest you aren’t going to cut up tomatoes hungover) and stir for another minute.
7. Add coriander, vegetable broth, and chickpeas and stir.
8. Bring contents of pot to a low boil and cook covered for 15 minutes or all day…whatever you need/want.
9. Add the roasted peppers.
10. Blend half the soup with an immersion blender OR blend about half the soup in a blender, being careful not to let the steam build up in the blender while you are blending, add the blended soup back to the pot.
11. Let soup sit for a few minutes, taste for salt, and serve.

Adapted from Appetite for Reduction; shown here with bread and goat cheese (omit goat cheese for vegans).

Vegan Baked Oatmeal

I’m on a little oatmeal kick recently…well, at Costco I bought about a zillion RAW oatmeal packets that come together in a jiffy and have quinoa, chia, flax, oats and great taste without all the sugar that Quaker has.  I came across this idea from a friend’s Facebook page today while procrastinating.  I made it and LOVE it.  If you are a non-oats person because of the texture of hot or cold oatmeal, this will cure you of your oat-phobia (yes, of course that is a technical term).  A quick, warm breakfast on a cold day is possible.  Try it for Christmas morning so you can dedicate time to your gifts and not the prep of your breakfast.  With this in your belly in the AM, it’s basically permission to eat cookies for the other two meals of the day.  Cheers!

Baked Oatmeal

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond or coconut milk (any nondairy milk should work here, I used unsweetened nonflavored almond)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds (any nut will work)
• 1/2 cup dried Michigan cherries (or other dried fruit of your choice)
• 1 large un-peeled Honey Crisp apple, grated (apple should be firm)
• 2 TBSP pure maple syrup (you choose, but use natural, not a syrup made with artificial sweeteners-Agave is a good sub here)
• Cooking Spray

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Coat a 3 quart (large) casserole dish or baking pan with cooking spray
3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl
4. Place mixture in the casserole dish
5. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes

Feel free to toss Chia or Flax in there too…a little sprinkle won’t hurt.

*Makes 6 1-cup servings (divide other servings into small containers for a quick grab-n-go breakfast next week for work!!!)

Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes

Because there is NO way you are sick of pumpkin yet, right?  This recipe is a blend of 3-4 Spark People recipes for pumpkin pancakes.  The combo of baking soda and baking powder give you fluffy and lighter pancakes despite the heavy pumpkin and whole wheat flour (you could sub white too I suppose).

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup mashed, cooked pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or white if necessary)

Combine soy milk with the tsp vinegar in a separate bowl. Give it 5 minutes to curdle – you have just created vegan buttermilk. Stir together pumpkin, spices, water and soy milk in mixing bowl. Add in remaining ingredients and stir JUST UNTIL MOIST, NO LONGER or your batter will become flat, dense and lifeless, like your ex-husband. Let sit 5 minutes to rise and lightly stir again. Let rest 5 more minutes and cook them up as you would regular pancakes.

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Vegan Pancakes

I’ve tried many recipes for vegan pancakes, all have left me feeling full, but had a texture that was flat, and dense-unpleasurable.  Apparently Isa had the same problem.  So, puffy pillow pancakes were born.  So far, I can’t argue with this recipe.  It’s everything a vegan pancake should be…including normal.

• 1 1/2 C all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 T sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 C almond milk (or soy milk)
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 T ground flax seeds
• 1/2 C water
• 2 1/2 T canola oil
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center.

Measure the milk into a measuring cup. Add vinegar and ground flax seeds, and use a fork to vigorously mix the ingredients until foamy. This will take a minute or so.

Pour the milk mixture into the center of the dry ingredients. Add the water, canola oil and vanilla and use a fork to mix until a thick, lumpy batter forms. That should take about a minute. It doesn’t need to be smooth, just make sure you get all the ingredients incorporated.

Preheat the pan over medium-low heat and let the batter rest for 10 minutes.

Lightly coat the pan in oil. Add 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake, and cook for about 4 minutes, until puffy. Flip the pancakes, adding a new coat of oil to the pan, and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Pancake should be about an inch thick, and golden brown.

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Adapted from PPK

Butternut Coconut Rice

Good use of leftovers here.  Had brown rice, marinated tofu, and roasted butternut squash in the freezer, so just had to chop up some ginger, garlic and shallots.  Had this dish on the dinner table in under 20 minutes.  YUM!  This rice dish freezes well after you put it together too-add some more veg broth and coconut milk, maybe a little curry powder and you have soup.  So many possibilities.

Ingredients:

• 1 c brown basmati rice (I used pink rice)
• 2 c water
• pinch of salt
• 2 lbs butternut squash
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 c sliced shallot
• 1 tbl minced fresh ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c light coconut milk
• 1/4-1/2 c veg broth (I just used water)
• 1 tbl freshly squeezed lime juice

Directions:

1. Cook rice (add rice, water and pinch of salt)-I pulled this pre-made from the freezer
2. Preheat oven to 400, bake squash for about 45 minutes-you could microwave this too if you are in a big hurry
3. When squash is cool to handle, preheat a large skillet over med-high heat. Sauté shallot in the oil for about 7 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, lime zest, red pepper flakes and salt, saute for 2 minutes, turn heat to low
4. Scoop the flesh out of the squash into the pan, add the coconut milk. Mash into a creamy consistency. Add rice and stir well. Add 1/4 c veg broth (or water) and mix well. You can add up to another 1/4 c of brother to get a creamier consistency if you want. Add lime juice, salt if needed and enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Appetite for Reduction, my most used and abused vegan cookbook.  Go get it.

Lentil Sloppy Joes

It’s tailgating season that means…Sloppy Joes.  Last year I posted a recipe using TVP which fooled the meat-eaters for sure, this year I’ll be taking Lentil Sloppy Joes.  Very similar recipe, as I finally got the flavor right, so now, moving on to lentils.  These have a bit of a kick to them, so easy on the chipotle en adobo if you like things a little more mild.  I think dijon, brown, or whole grain mustard would be a great sub for the peppers if you want a kick but no heat.  We shall see how this goes.

Filling:

• 2 C dried lentils, your choice of lentil
• 6 C water
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 head garlic

So this part cooks itself.  Take your lentils, give them a hearty rinse under cool water until the water runs clear.  Dump them into your slow cooker with the water, bay leaves and head of garlic with top cut off (keep it intact, so you can drag it out later).  Depending on your lentil, your water will absorb completely, or you will have to strain them before combining with other items below.  Either way, you want to cook your lentils until they are al dente (like pasta), not mush.  For me, in a slow cooker cranked up to high, it was just 3 hours.  I cleaned the house while they cooked.  When they are done, drain the excess liquid from the lentils, toss the bay leaves and garlic, then return the lentils to the slow cooker pot, you will finish cooking this dish in the slow cooker after you assemble the items below.   Next…

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 C coarsely chopped onion
• 1/2 C coarsely chopped bell pepper (your choice of color)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 4-oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4 C water
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 T packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Sriracha
• 2 whole chipotle en adobo, chopped finely
• salt & pepper to taste
• 4-6 large hamburger buns or rolls or 10-12 slider buns

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet (I used a wok) over medium-high heat.  Cook the onion, bell pepper and garlic through until the bell pepper is tender (8-10 minutes).

Stir the remaining sandwich filling ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Add this mix to the cooked and DRAINED lentils in the slow cooker, stir until the mixture is well combined.  Set the slow cooker to high for faster results or low if you have all day and let the mixture thicken.

To serve, spread filling onto a bun and enjoy.

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Vegan Pear Ginger Muffins

Sometimes what I make is determined by what is available in my kitchen at the moment (then I don’t have to go to the grocery store).  So many pears lately hanging around, hence, vegan pear ginger muffins found their way into the oven.  I was delighted at how little sugar went into these and how they still managed to be slightly sweet, not over- or underwhelming.  The pear makes a for a great break from squash and pumpkin during the fall months.

(make 18 muffins, or 12 muffins and 1 small loaf of bread)

• 3 C whole grain flour
• 1/2 – 3/4 C brown sugar, packed
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 ½ C unsweetened almond or soy milk
• ½ C canola oil
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 pears, peeled and diced
• 1/2 – 3/4 C crystallized dried ginger chopped fine

1. Preheat oven to 400° and line a muffin tin with paper cups.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the wet. Stir until just combined.

3. Fold in the chopped pear and pour batter into prepared pan or cupcake wrappers.  Bake for about 20 minutes, check to see if they are done with a toothpick, you don’t want to overbake else they become dry.

These freeze brilliantly.  I don’t know if I’d let them go longer than about a month, but they will get you through a few weeks of breakfasts nonetheless.

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Many thanks to Gosh, that’s so vegan for the inspiration on the muffins.  I was all pumpkin’d out and pears hit the spot.

Sriracha Tofu

I was thinking of a recipe that might be similar in sushi for spicy tuna and this is pretty close.  One night when we were out at Tokyo Grill, I asked the sushi chef what made up the spicy sauce for the tuna and it’s just Sriracha and mayo mixed together.  I bet the texture could be achieved if you cubed the tofu very, very small.  This can be used for make at home sushi or over rice in a bowl, which is a go-to meal for us during the work week with some steamed or stir fried veggies.  This is spicy.  So if you want to dial it down a notch, half the Sriracha or even quarter it depending on your tolerance.  I like this with avocados and kale over brown rice.  It cools it off a little but still tastes tangy.

• 1 12-oz. pkg. extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry, cut into ¼-inch cubes
• 3 T low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 T Sriracha
• 1 T white wine vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
• 1 T mirin
• 1 T maple syrup
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 T vegan mayonnaise

1. Heat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and add half of tofu cubes. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, or until cubes are golden, stirring occasionally. Transfer tofu to plate, and repeat with remaining tofu.

2. Stir together soy sauce, Sriracha, vinegar, mirin, maple syrup, sesame oil.  Return all tofu to pan, and add soy sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until most of liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and stir in mayonnaise. Serve warm or chilled.

Adapted from vegetariantimes.com

Barley Burgers

Tree Huggers is one of those happy places.  So.  Much.  Happy.  I basically stalked the owner and demanded that she be my friend.  Hey, whatever works. Angela Topp is a lover of vegan eats, IPA and dogs, she’s lovely and skilled at creating partnerships in the Earth-friendly community.   This recipe share is the result of Tree Huggers partnership with Bartertown Diner.  Once a week (in the evening) a chef from Bartertown works at Tree Huggers prepping recipes straight from ingredients available from the cooler (yes, RIGHT IN THE STORE) and then shares a tasty animal-free dish with you.  You can walk out with everything you need to make it from the help of the Bartertown chef as your personal shopper.  How cool is that?!

Enjoy a burger on the grill that didn’t come from a the screaming death of a helpless animal.  Yeah, I just said that.

Black Bean Barley Burger

• 2 C cooked black beans
• 2 C cooked barley
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, diced
• 2 T nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 T Braggs liquid aminos
• 1 T oil
• 1 tsp of salt
• Little rooster vegan buns
• Ham Family Farm Tomato

1. Cook barley, set aside and allow to cool to a handleable temperature.
2. Cook black beans until soft, mash using a fork or food processor, set aside.
3. Finely chop onions and garlic, Sautée until translucent.
4. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mix well.
5. Preheat your oven to 350
6. Form mixture into sizable patties on a greased baking pan.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
8. Allow patties to cool, this helps with binding.
9. Now you have patties for dinner and leftovers for the week!

Feel free to experiment with your own blend on spices.

Seasonal Pesto Pasta

Last week’s vegan (cheeseless) pesto recipe gets a workout here on a hodge-podge salad from seasonal veggies.  A “clean out the fridge” recipe that turned out pretty delish.  This could easily be made vegan or gluten free with the appropriate pasta.

• 1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes
• 1 large heirloom tomato
• 3-4 cubes pesto
• 2-3 lemons, zested and juiced
• 4 small zucchini
• 1 C toasted walnuts
• 2 C white beans
• 2 C arugula or other seasonal greens, hand torn
• 1/2 C packed fresh basil, hand torn
• 1 pound rotini pasta, cooked al dente

1. Select a large bowl or rectangle pan for the elements to be assembled.  As the ingredients are finished with their first phase you can just toss them together as you go to avoid destroying the integrity of the veggies by trying to stir or toss together at the end.  The pesto will incorporate easily this way as well.  You do not want a huge bowl of mush at the end.
2. Tear arugula and basil into pieces and put in the bottom of this large bowl or pan.  The warm ingredients added will wilt this for you saving you a cooking step.
3. Boil water and cook your choice of pasta noodle, al dente, drain water and toss back into warm pan with pesto cubes, juice and zest of two lemons.  Turn noodles to coat.  Toss into big bowl-this will wilt your greens easily.
4. Warm a little olive oil (1 tsp or so) in a wok or fry pan, toss in walnuts and toast until slightly browned and super crisp.  Toss into big bowl.
5. Cut zucchini into little wheels of uniform size.  In the same pan without adding more oil, saute the bite-sized squash pieces for a few minutes, then add the juice and zest of one lemon, salt and pepper to taste.  Do this over high heat and don’t let your zucchini get soggy.  Remove when it still has a bite to it and toss into the large pan with the other ingredients.
6. Cut tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.  Toss into big bowl.
7. Finally add your two cups of white beans.  Mine usually come from the freezer as I bulk make beans every few weeks, but using canned is cool with me.  If you do so, be sure to rinse them well, to get all the unnecessary ick off them.
8. Toss all ingredients together and serve.  This makes a TON of salad.  It keeps well in your fridge for up to a week if you don’t let it dry out.  I make sure plastic wrap is touching the leftovers and that seems to keep it fresh, not dry.  If yours becomes dry, refresh with a little bit of olive oil, water or lemon juice before serving.

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Raw Tomato Sauce

What to do with a bazillion tomatoes, some fresh basil and a hungry husband? Make dinner.  My first thought was bruschetta!  Then I thought about the naked pasta in the fridge so I warmed up the noodles in some hot water, you know the way Olive Garden does it (start rant-no, they don’t make their own food in the restaurant.  I know I just broke your heart.  It comes to them from some industrial kitchen, off a truck, in large Ziplocks they toss in hot water, warm up then put on a nice plate.  You are so distracted by “neverending salad and sticks” that you don’t notice the food is gross and reheated-end rant).  I served this sauce over top, not to make a statement, but mostly because I was too lazy to put this sauce on simmer at like noon, so what’s the point to heat it up at 7pm?   No point.  I give you raw tomato sauce.

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, about 3 large tomatoes
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 pound spaghetti (grab vegan version if you like)
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving (omit if vegan)

Preparation:

Option 1-as shown in pictures:

Combine diced tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, red peppers in a bowl, toss to form the sauce.  Serve cold sauce over hot pasta.  Add grated cheese if interested.  Adjust seasonings to your preference.

Option 2:

If desired, peel tomatoes; remove seeds, straining juice into a bowl. Save the juice and discard seeds. In a food processor, combine garlic, tomatoes with juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and basil. Pulse quickly to chop roughly. Pulse more for a smoother sauce, if desired. Transfer to a bowl, add salt and pepper and let stand to marinate for about 20 minutes.  Serve over pasta.

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Quick Pickled Peppers

Even Peter Piper couldn’t pickle a pepper faster than these babies turn out.  I had a few jalapenos leftover from making jalapeno jelly, so I put them to work in a bath of pickling spices.  I can’t wait to try these on a BBQ pizza, nachos or in chili.

• 1 + 1/4 C water
• 1 + 1/4 C distilled white vinegar
• 3 T white sugar
• 3 T kosher salt, this is NOT the same as iodized or table salt
• 8 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 tsp dried epazote
• 3 tsp dried cumin seeds, crushed a little
• 10 large jalapeno peppers, sliced into rings
• 2 large red bell peppers, sliced into strips

Directions

1. Combine water, vinegar, sugar, kosher salt, garlic, epazote, cumin seeds, and oregano in a saucepan over high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, stir in jalapeno and red peppers then remove from heat. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
2. Pack peppers into jars using tongs, cover with vinegar mixture, cover, and refrigerate until needed – should keep for up to 6 months.

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This recipe for me yielded 5 (12-oz) jelly jars full of peppers and pickling juice and 2 (12-oz) jars of extra juice that I dropped some baby carrots into for an experiment.

Adapted from Chef John

Roasted Beet Sandwich on Naan

I love naan.  I love it a little less now that I’ve investigated what it is that I am actually eating.  It’s not exactly health food.  I have been buying these delicious commercial naan bread that I typically see at my deli counter and now they are available at Costco, double whammy.  After I made this sandwich, I started researching recipes online for a healthier, more importantly vegan naan and I came up with a few that I will be trying for my next foray into sandwich-making.

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Sometimes not eating meat poses problems in the sandwich area-going to a deli can be less than successful most times.  Instead, you have to make up for it in your own kitchen.  Pictured is a toss together sandwich made from Tin Foil Beets and various other items found in the fridge.  These items would also make a great salad with a squeeze of lemon or orange juice for the dressing.  Contents of the sandwich on naan bread are:  smear of hummus, fresh baby spinach, avocado with lemon juice and roasted beets.  I serve this in a pocket sometimes with sprouts, arugula and carrots.  A Mr. Wonderful fave and perfect beach food as they travel well.

Vegan Black Bean Brownies

These vegan brownies are gluten free, vegan and totally delicious. They taste like any other brownie you may have met, except have a more complex and deep taste associated with the chocolate, almost a savory sweet.  They are also not dry, which is more than I can say for most other brownies I’ve experienced of the non-veg variety.  This is another one of those recipes that you may as well just double and bake off another batch for the masses.  They freeze well and keep in the fridge for a long time so you can enjoy them longer.

Ingredients

• 1/3 of a 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 flax egg (1 T flaxseed meal + 2.5 T water)
• 1 T coconut oil (or other oil)
• scant 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• dash salt
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 t baking powder
• heaping 1/2 t finely ground espresso powder or instant coffee granules
• 1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips (dairy free for vegan)*

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 6 muffin tins. Prepare flax egg by combining flax and water in small bowl and letting it rest for 3-5 minutes. Combine black beans through instant coffee in a food processor (sift in sugar if clumpy) and puree. Then stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into muffin tins and smooth the tops with a spoon. Bake for 17 minutes or until tops are dry and starting to pull away from the sides. Let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan (I baked mine in cupcake papers so I didn’t have to mess with clean up and I baked another batch in mini cupcake tin form).

*PETA happens to have a very good/searchable data base on their website for vegan products to sub for regular products.  I understand they are polarizing but they also have the mad money to make tools that are incredible for people searching for animal safe items.  Despite the fact that they sell half shirts still (thanks Pamela Anderson), I really like the info they have available on their site.  If you just can’t bring yourself to check out the tools, typically you can find Ghiradelli Chips at the grocery store which are accidentally vegan.

Recipe courtesy:  Dana Schultz

Vegan Crunch Bars

Go ahead and double this.  Save yourself the re-make dirty dishes you will have to wash when you eat the first batch and need to whip up a second batch.

• 1/4 cup rice crispies (brown or white, or gf)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
• Sweetener to taste-I used 1 1/2 T Agave (options include: pure maple syrup, NuNaturals alcohol-free vanilla stevia drops, or agave. I haven’t tried granulated sugar or powdered stevia in this recipe.)
• tiny dash salt (makes the flavor pop)

Combine coconut oil and sweetener. Stir, then add cocoa powder and rice crispies (If needed, add 3 tbsp water or milk of choice, only if using stevia.). Stir until it gets thick. Pour into any flat container (or candy molds, or smush between layers of wax paper or in ziploc bags). Freeze until solid, and store in the freezer.

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recipe courtesy of:  http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/

Fried Rice

I typically make grains on the weekend to avoid the time it takes to prep them during the week.  There is nothing worse than a 30 minute meal, that takes an hour and a half because you need to account for the brown rice to cook.  I have gotten in the habit of planning out a week of meals at a time because as you have probably noticed about me by now, I hate the friggin’ grocery store.  So I shop once a week, get my CSA’s two times a week and that generally allows me to be pretty prepared for all lunches and dinners for the week.

Now sometimes, those made-ahead grains get lost in the back of the fridge.  When that happens there is no better time to use up the rest of your CSA, freezer stuff, and pre-made brown rice, than in fried rice.

Ingredients

• 3 C cooked brown rice (day old or leftover rice works best!)
• 3 T sesame oil
• 1/2 C shelled fresh or frozen peas
• 1/3 C frozen shelled edemame
• 1 C shredded carrot
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten (omit if vegan)
• 1/4 C Tamari (to keep it gluten free; okay to use soy or Bragg’s Aminos if you are not concerned about gluten)
• 1 bag Quorn strips (if vegan omit)
• 1 handful roasted, salted peanuts

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok.  Add the peas, carrots, edemame, onion, Quorn*, and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled*. Add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated.

*To keep this recipe vegan, omit the egg and the Quorn of course.

Recipe adapted from Life as a Lofthouse

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Kohlrabi Tofu Scramble

This is a twist on a previous post:  Curried Tofu & Wilted Arugula Scramble .  I won’t bore you with the details, but this update is awesome when you add the garlic scapes and kohlrabi it turns slightly more sweet than the original.  Proof that really you can toss anything into a tofu scramble and it will taste good.  Flex your imagination, or simply look into your CSA bag for inspiration.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp canola or olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, diced finely
•  2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 garlic scapes, minced
• 1 medium sized kohlrabi, peeled and diced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 large handful, pea pods
• 1 1/2 T fresh ginger, peeled and diced
• 1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch dice
• 2 tsp regular (sweet) curry powder
• 1 tsp hot curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 C baby arugula or spinach
• 2 T crushed roasted peanuts

1. Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and kohlrabi in oil for about 4-6 minutes covered, until translucent and tender. Add the garlic, scapes, and ginger, saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add tofu and pea pods to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tofu has browned on some of the sides.
2. Add the curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, lemon juice & a few splashed of water if it’s too dry. Mix in the arugula. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the arugula is wilted (cover if you want this to go faster).
3. Taste for spices and add another teaspoon of curry powder if needed. Plate, add crushed peanuts on top and serve!

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