Hearty Stew



Hearty Stew


I've had Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's lovely book The Vegan Table for quite a while now but haven't taken the time to explore it thoroughly.   Even though we are in the middle of summer, tonight I decided to make the Hearty Stew recipe featuring tempeh, potatoes, carrots and onions.  It's aptly named and was extremely simple to put together.  Even a novice cook could not possibly screw this up.  All the veggies get chopped up and thrown into one pot with veggie stock, a bit of tomato paste and some herbs including thyme, marjoram and tarragon.  You don't even need to peel the carrots and potatoes if you're feeling really lazy.  

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with tarragon.  I find the aroma quite strong and a little off-putting but can enjoy the flavour as long as it's balanced with other ingredients.  I was really happy with how the stew turned out and even happier that it took so little time to prepare.   There's something very satisfying about potatoes cooked in a savoury, saucy stew and the tempeh remained slightly firm while absorbing the flavours of the broth.   Yum.

Szechwan Green Beans and Shallots



Szechwan Broccoli and Shallots

Okay, I know the title of this post is a little misleading because these don't look like green beans and they're not but I really wanted to try this recipe from Robin Robertson's new book Party Vegan and the closest thing I had in my fridge was broccoli. This book has been topping my pile of must read library books for a few weeks now and with so much going on around here, I have not had time to do this lovely book justice. I plan on buying myself a copy when the budget allows because it's chock full of delicious sounding recipes that are right up my alley. She is hands down my favourite cookbook author - I think our palates are super simpatico because whenever I read her recipes, I find myself drooling and inspired to get into the kitchen.

This recipe is pretty simple but as usual I was missing another ingredient, this time for the sauce. Dry cooking sherry is not something I usually stock in my pantry although I do come across it occasionally in recipes. It's one of those things I never remember to buy so instead I substituted a combination of rice vinegar and agave nectar. The recipe only calls for one teaspoon and hopefully it didn't completely alter the intended flavours of the dish.  My husband said he thought the sauce was very balanced with a nice amount of spiciness.   Because I replaced the beans with broccoli and also added tofu to make it a one pot meal, I should have doubled the sauce but it was a easy to prepare, flavourful and very reminiscent of the traditional Szechwan sauces I've eaten in Chinese restaurants.  I will definitely make it again with just beans next time.   

Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits



Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits

 After a stressful two week hiatus to take care of some family business I am back and ready to cook!   I treated myself to a copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's new book Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipesand the recipes look promising.   I've been hearing good things about the Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits and decided to give them a go this afternoon.  Actually, I've never made any type of biscuit before and was a little nervous but the instructions seemed very straightforward.  It seems I needn't have worried, they came out very tender and moist.  They remind me of light and fluffy scones.  These particular biscuits contain 1 cup of mashed sweet potato and only 3 tablespoons of oil which I understand is a lot less fat than what is traditionally used.  I liked them a lot, the only change I would make would be halving the 1 teaspoon of nutmeg because it was too much for me.   

Flax-Berry Pancakes with Simso's Strawberry Sauce



Flax-Berry Pancakes with Simso's Strawberry Sauce


When I find a recipe I like, I sometimes get into a rut.  I've been making the same pancakes for over a year now and this morning decided to bust out a few cookbooks and look for something new.  My choice was Flax-Berry Pancakes from Vegan Planet: 400 Irresistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the Worldand to top it all off Simso's Strawberry Sauce from Vegan World Fusion Cuisine.  I must say, as a Canadian who can't imagine using anything but maple syrup on my pancakes this was a pretty radical idea.

The pancakes were tasty and easy, except for the bit where you have to scrape ground flaxseeds out of the blender jar.  I was a little more hesitant about the strawberry sauce it but exceeded my expectations.  The recipe called for chopped strawberries, water, a little sweetener of your choice (I used agave), mirin, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cardomom which I hate so I left that out.  My only complaint is that it only made enough for one person.   Next time I will double or triple the recipe.  All in all though, it was a successful breakfast and my weekly cooking challenge is complete!  

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My friend Kathryn was way ahead of me this week and whipped up some tasty, savory black beans and rice for our challenge.   Go and check it out at The Hedgehog in the Kitchen. 

Happy cooking everyone!

Leek Potato Soup



Leek Potato Soup

 I don't often cook with leeks but they are definitely one of my occasional, vegetable impulse buys at the grocery store.  I had three sitting in my fridge getting a little dried out and thought it would the perfect ingredient for my weekly cooking challenge.  I've always wanted to make potato leek soup and searched my cookbooks for a recipe.  I found an appealing candidate in Lauren Ulm's wonderful Vegan YumYum with relatively few ingredients. 

This simple, warming soup was a big hit with everyone in our house. I liked it's velvety texture and the fact that few ingredients were required. Next time I will reduce the amount of salt and season at the end if required. 
 
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And now lets go and see what Kathryn has made over at The Hedgehog in the Kitchen.   Ooooh, it looks like some yummy middle eastern lentils and rice from Veganomicon.   I must give that one a try.   Go Kathryn!  Keep on cooking!

No Bake Chocolate Cookies - Oh Yes!



Da Kine No Bake Chocolate Cookies

 Valentines Day was the official end of my no-sugar challenge.  I never thought in a million years I could go six weeks without indulging in a daily hit of sugar but I actually did it with the support of my good friend Merry.  I must say there was a noticable improvement in my energy levels.  That awful, mid-day, sluggish, slump disappeared and after about 3 weeks the cravings lessened.  Tonight I made my first real treat, a recipe for no bake chocolate cookies from Vegan Fusion World Cuisine.  These were very simple to prepare, just melt the chocolate or carob chips and mix in the remaining ingredients which included raisins, pecans, coconut flakes, almond or peanut butter, a bit of maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon.  The mixture cooled and firmed up quickly making it easy to shape the cookies.  We popped them in the fridge and after about 15 minutes, the upper limit of my daughter's waiting tolerance, she tried one.  Total success!  She loved them except for the raisins which were spit out, no surprise there.  Then, it was my turn.  I made a cup of tea, sat down and bit into chocolatey goodness.   Mmmm, they almost taste like very firm fudge with chunks of pecans and raisins.  I was only going to eat one because they are so rich but could not resist attempting a second.

Thai Vegetable Soup



Thai Vegetable Soup

 After shovelling mounds of fluffy snow for a couple of hours this afternoon, I came in from the cold pretty darn hungry for something warm and nourishing.  I decided to make a delicious looking Thai Vegetable Soup I had seen on a newly discovered website called Elana's Pantry.  She cooks all gluten free food and some vegan recipes.  Her photos are fantastic and the food all looks and sounds very healthy.  You can find the soup recipe here.

Coconut milk, veggie stock, ginger, lime and cilantro make a delicious soup broth.  She adds broccoli, mushrooms and onions but I think with a few more veggies, some tofu and perhaps a squirt of chili sauce this soup could be even more substantial.  A thumbs up for simpicity, fast preparation and flavour with relatively few ingredients.

Chocolate Banana Flapjacks

I was in need of some serious comfort food tonight after an exhausting day and it definitely needed to be sweet.  I decided to make a batch of banana flapjacks from Vegan Brunch and then had the brilliant idea to replace the plain non-dairy milk with CHOCOLATE non-dairy milk.   Wow, wow, wow!   Were they ever delicious!  The chocolate and banana flavours balanced perfectly and I did include the optional 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.   These flapjacks were soft, and melted in my mouth.   It was the perfect choice and I don't feel as guilty as if I'd eaten a piece of cake for dinner.  

I got one test shot in before my camera batteries died so there's no maple syrup spilling over the side like when I ate them.  Sorry!



Chcolate-Banana Flapjacks sans Maple Syrup



Better Bean Burgers

This is a quick post because we are in the middle of a busy holiday weekend.   Our Christmas tree went up tonight and I whipped up a batch of these tasty Better Bean Burgers from Robin Robertson's book Vegan on the Cheap.  They were surprisingly flavourful with so few ingredients - black beans, parsley, red onion, bread crumbs, gluten flour and some salt and pepper.  I was worried they would be boring but I was wrong, I really enjoyed them.  I love trying new veggie burgers so leave me a comment and tell me about your favourites!  

Better Bean Burgers

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And it sounds like my good friend Kathryn over at The Hedgehog in the Kitchen baked up a delicious pumpkin pie for American Thanksgiving.  Keep on cooking Kathryn, you are inspiring me! 

Easy Chocolate Cake



Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

 This is my daughter's favourite and most requested dessert - Chocolate Cake from The Joy of Vegan Baking.  I love this recipe because it's so fast and easy to put together.  If you double the recipe it makes a bundt cake and is also great for cupcakes.  I always have the ingredients in my pantry, it doesn't require any egg replacer just flour, salt, sugar, cocao, baking soda, vinegar, vanilla, water and oil.  The cake itself is not too rich on it's own but if you make the chocolate buttercream icing to go with it, the decadance factor goes up a notch.  We enjoy it both ways.   I don't often get a photo of this cake because it gets eaten too quickly and that means as soon as it's out of the oven, I am being pestered for a piece.   As you can see from this photo, there is a slice missing.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I don't know why I haven't tried to make these before, they're easy, delicious and good for you too.   A big thumbs up from my four year old even though they had cumin which she normally doesn't tolerate too much of.  I started with the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance which is basically a bit of oil, cumin and coriander and then added sesame seeds and salt to the mix.  The sesame seeds made these really delicious!


Sweet Potato Fries



Eggplant Chana Masala

Eggplant Chana Masala


Lunch today was Eggplant Chana Masala from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet.  A warming, hearty stew of eggplant, onions, chickpeas and tomatoes hit the spot accompanied by some jasmine rice and my favourite vinegary Korean spinach.  The recipe called for 2 cans of chickpeas and I only had one but the pot was overflowing so I didn't make any substitutions.  I always use fresh tomatoes in place of canned because I hate the weird flavour the canned ones have.  It's impossible to get rid of that tinniness unless you simmer them for a very long time and this is a fast cooking recipe, about 45 minutes in total.


Lunch!

    

Blueberry Orange Muffins

I'm excited beyond belief to be participating in this Vegan Mofo craziness and have spent most of the day in the kitchen.  I've had my eye on the Blueberry Orange Bundt cake recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking for a while now and decided to make muffins for a well deserved afternoon tea break.  I love these cake recipes that come together so quickly with no beaters or mixers etc.  Just combine wet and dry ingredients and pop in the oven, although this one did require a quck spin in the blender for the wet ingredients.

We enjoyed our tea and muffins out on the deck, they were very good, moist and not too sweet but I did detect a hint of baking soda flavour but perhaps that was my fault.      



Blueberry Orange Muffins



Cauliflower Poppers

I'm not usually inspired by this particular vegetable and so was searching for something to do with half a large head of cauliflower.  I came across something called Cauliflower poppers that appeared to be simple, fast and tasty.  I've combined a couple of different recipes from the web and am very pleased with the results.  We were out of lemons so instead I substituted 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar with my fingers crossed that it wouldn't affect the flavour too much.  Also, because I added 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, the mixture was a little thick so I thinned it out with some water. 

My four year old's reaction when she tasted this, "Mmmm, I want it".  She has never eaten cauliflower in her life, need I say more?  For some reason I was expecting the cauliflower to be crispier (the popper in the name perhaps) but the texture was soft like roasted vegetables usually are and the flavour is outstanding!   Definitely my favourite way to eat this unassuming veggie yet. 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Separate the cauliflower into bite-sized florets.


Whisk together the remaining ingredients and toss with the cauliflower, then bake for 40 minutes, stirring once about halfway through the cooking time.  

Enjoy!


Cauliflower Poppers



Minted Baba Ganoush

Eggplant roasted with garlic

I just found out about Vegan Mofo which I've seen reference to in the past and thanks to my new friend Kika who alerted me this afternoon of the deadline to participate, I think I just squeaked in the door and hope to be included.  The Vegan Month of Food is basically a blogging bonanza where participants are asked to write as much as possible about vegan food during the month of November.  Apparently well over 500 people are doing this! 

My second foray into Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet is Minted Baba Ganoush which admittedly has the appearance of gray oatmeal but tastes good.  I think it could use a little more zing but since I have a minor obsession with eggplant, I polished off a good sized serving without any problem.  There were a few moments of panic when I realized I rarely buy fresh mint and wondered how crucial it was to the recipe but then someone reminded me that we have a slew of mint growing wild in the cracks between the patio stones in our new backyard!  Yay, I just popped outside for a sprig and took a picture on the deck.  


Minted Baba Ganoush

To accompany the Baba Ganoush, I also made a delicious flatbread (really! truly!) but sadly it was all eaten before I could get a decent photo.  They came out of the pan and straight into the mouths of some hungry family members.  I will make them again soon and hide a few so I can capture how appetizing they are.

Rice Noodle and Skinny Carrot Fast Fry

In the middle of making soup for my weekly cooking challenge my tummy started grumbling so I decided to try out the new vegetable and fruit peeler we purchased yesterday at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair.  I can't eat chunky carrots so when I saw a pile of super skinny carrots piled on top of the demonstration table, I couldn't resist buying this simple little peeler.  When I tried my hand at making the carrots tonight I wasn't quite as skilled but I managed.  

Into the pan went a bit of oil, half a sliced onion and after a few minutes my gorgeous skinny carrots.   I mixed a little sugar with some soy sauce, sesame oil and about a tablespoon of Thai spice blend I found up in the cupboard.  Next in went the cooked rice noodles in along with the sauce and after a quick toss it was ready!  Have I mentioned that I adore rice noodles?  They take only a few minutes to cook and are delicious.  I meant to add tofu in with the veggies but forgot so I fried some up on the side in a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce and added it at the end.  A very quick and satisfying supper and now back to the kitchen I go to finish off my soup. 

Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Skinny Carrots and Tofu

Korean Greens

This is one of my favourite ways to eat greens.   I've made it with spinach, kale and today I'm trying swiss chard.  I discovered this simple dish while visiting the family home of my friend Patty.   As I wolfed down these vinegary-sesame greens, I quizzed her dad on how to make them.   He was very amused when I pulled out my little notebook to write down his instructions.   This dish is traditionally made with spinach but I use any greens I have on hand.   I find kale tends to hold up well, especially if you want leftovers for the next day and I was also quite pleased with the chard today. 

Roughly chop and steam a bunch of greens, do not overcook.  Drain or squeeze out excess water.  
Mix the following ingredients and then toss with the greens:

3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon (or more to taste) sesame seeds

You can adjust the amount of dressing to fit your greens.    Yummy served with steamed rice!

Hurry Up Alfredo Sauce - We can eat it anytime!

Pasta and kale with Hurry Up Alfredo Sauce

This pasta sauce has become a family favourite, so much so that we sometimes make it for breakfast like this plate from yesterday morning.  I often cook up a batch of pasta, throw in some kale and broccoli a few minutes before it's done and then pour the sauce over.  This creamy, cashew based sauce is made in the blender and requires no cooking so its perfect for busy families.  My daughter wouldn't go near it the first five or six times we prepared it but she gradually became curious about the rapturous faces and sounds we were making while eating.   She has since been won over but to my chagrin has renamed it "pasta with hot-dog sauce".  I'm secretly horrified at the name but it seems to have stuck.  I think the dijon mustard or the combination of seasonings makes it smell like hotdogs to her.  You can find the recipe here, on Lauren Ulm's blog.  She is the author of Vegan YumYum, a beautifully photographed cookbook.  This is my favourite pasta sauce and it's also scrumptious poured over vegetables. 

Roasted Kale = Yum!

Kale is one of my favourite vegetables and one of the few my daughter will eat so I don't know what took me so long to try roasting it.   The bunch I had in the fridge was looking a little sad so I decided today was the day.   If I don't eat some greens every day I notice myself getting cranky so it's always nice to discover a new way to prepare them. 

I tossed the kale in a bowl with a little sesame oil, sesame seeds and salt, threw it in the oven for 10 minutes and voila!   Easy, healthy finger food.  We gobbled up the entire pan in a few minutes. 

She ate almost the entire plate!

Crispy Roasted Kale