Chickpea Cashew Surprise Loaf



Chickpea Cashew Surprise Loaf

My friend Lisa and I started a discussion group on Goodreads (a social networking site for readers) called Vegan Cookbooks and Cooking where we discuss many topics related to vegan cooking along with our favourite recipes from the hundreds of vegan cookbooks out there. One of our members recently told us about this fantastic website and program called the Magical Loaf Studio designed by Jennifer McCann author of Vegan Lunchbox and Vegan Lunchbox Around the World. On the website you can plug in a variety of ingredients and SHAZAM! - Out pops a recipe with your chosen ingredients in the correct proportions for an Adventist style loaf.  As soon as I took a look at the website I was dying to give it a try and tonight was the night!  I picked all my favourite ingredients along with the seasonings I thought would complement them and it actually turned out really moist, flavourful and delicious. I encourage everyone to give this a go and kudos to Jennifer for creating such a simple, yet effective way to create a custom veggie loaf.


As an accompaniment to the loaf I made mashed potatoes, sautéed broccoli, all topped with the Silky Chickpea Gravy from Appetite for Reduction. The gravy was hearty and quite strongly flavoured with thyme but we all enjoyed it and there’s a lot leftover for tomorrow. I had to add quite a bit of extra water to thin the gravy because it was quite thick. Here follows the recipe for the loaf I created but there are endless variations if you want to try it for yourself.

Chickpea Cashew Surprise Loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cashews
2 TB olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 cup mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans, partly mashed
1 cup dry whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth, as needed
1 heaping TB flaxseed meal
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 TB nutritional yeast flakes
2 TB ketchup
Several dashes vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce
2 TB soy sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a loaf pan or 8x8 square baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside (an 8x8 pan makes a crisper loaf).

Grind the cashews into a coarse meal using a food processor or spice/coffee grinder. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Sauté any vegetables you've chosen in the olive oil until soft. Add to the large mixing bowl along with all the remaining ingredients. Mix and mash together well, adding only as much liquid as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds together and is not runny (you may not need to add any liquid if the grains and protein are very moist). Add more binder/carbohydrate as needed if the loaf seems too wet.

Press mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a plate or platter and slice. Serve with potatoes, vegetables, and vegetarian gravy, if desired.

Cold leftover slices of Chickpea Cashew Surprise Loaf make a great sandwich filling.

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My cooking challenge partner and friend Kathryn continues her exploration of Appetite for Reduction with three yummy recipes including those OMG Onion Rings that I want to stuff my face with!   Check out her post at her blog The Hedgehog in the Kitchen. 

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Mustard Tofu

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Mustard Tofu

I've been working my way through Isa Chandra Moscowitz's Appetite for Reduction with great success and this recipe was no exception.  In fact, I've made four more recipes from the book this week and been pleased with every single one.  The great thing about this book is that most of the recipes don't require a long prep time and none seem daunting or complicated.  As an every day cookbook that incorporates a variety of flavour profiles and cuisines, I think this is a winner.  
      
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this Hoisin-Mustard combination but I was curious enough to try it and I'm happy to report it was delicious. If you like honey-mustard sauce then you will probably enjoy the blend of  ginger, garlic, mustard and the Hoisin barbecue sauce making for a great sweet and savory bite. Wrapping the tofu mixture in lettuce provided the perfect crisp, fresh complement. I used Romaine instead of iceburg and my husband and I gobbled this dish up.

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For our cooking challenge, over the Easter weekend, my friend Kathryn made a Polish sweet bread called Babka which looks and sounds delicious.  Check it out here.  

Eggplant and Black Bean Chili



Eggplant and Black Bean Chili


I started reading chili recipes today in the hopes of finding one that would use up some TVP I had in the cupboard.  I've never cooked with it before and thought chili would be the perfect vehicle.   As often happens none were quite what I was looking for although I borrowed heavily from Robin Robertson's Very Veggie Chili.  I liked the idea of using eggplant and so used her recipe as a jumping off point but the great thing about this dish is that there are endless variations of ingredients to play with.  Next time I will probably double the amount of black beans.  I served this with macaroni today but I often eat chili with rice or quinoa.

Here is my version which I'm calling Eggplant and Black Bean Chili.

1 onion chopped
1 celery ribbed chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sized eggplant peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1 can tomato paste (5.5 ounces)
2 tablespoons molasses
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp soy sauce
6 fresh tomatoes
4 cups water or veggie stock
1 20 ounce can black beans
1 cup TVP (dry) reconstituted with 1 cup boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the onion and celery in the olive oil until soft.  Add the eggplant, red pepper and garlic and cook with the lid on until the eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes.  Stir frequently so the eggplant doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. 

Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, soy sauce, molasses, tomatoes, water, TVP and black beans.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes until flavors are blended. 

Butternut Squash and Wild Mushroom Lasagna

Creamy and rich, almost overwhelming so, with not a drop of dairy in sight.  The butternut squash lent this dish a hint of sweetness.  I made the mistake of using dry noodles instead of the type you must boil first and the top layer was a little on the chewy side.   I think I prefer lasagna with some type of red sauce although this was very good.  The food in the photo looks downright scary because I'm terrible at making lasagna look pretty and it always falls apart when I lift it out of the pan.   Recipe from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet. 

Caution! Caution!  View the following photo at your own risk. 



Butternut Squash and Wild Mushroom Lasagna


For our weekly cooking challenge this week, my buddy Kathryn over at The Hedgehog in the Kitchen made a delicious lentil soup.   Check it out!  

My other friend Kika has also been doing lots of cooking this week for vegan mofo and her latest creation looks yummy - Vegetable Curry with Chickpea Patties.

Indonesian Style Rice with Tempeh

Indonesian Style Rice with Tempeh

I love a little sweetness in my savoury dishes and this hearty tempeh and rice meal fits the bill.  I used an entire package of tempeh instead of just one cup because once it was poached and crumbled, I didn't want to waste the remainder.  Next time I will add more than 2 cups of napa cabbage to increase the veggie content and make this a more balanced one pot meal.  I left out the hot chili to make it child friendly and instead used part of a bell pepper to blend up with the shallots.  I enjoyed the nutty flavour and chewiness of the tempeh and rice mixture.  While I was eating it felt very satisfying and filling.  Leftovers the following morning were just as good.  This is another winner from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet, she is fast becoming my favourite cookbook author.

General Tao's Tofu



General Tao's Tofu


Okay, this isn't the healthiest recipe on the planet but when you have a craving for chewy tofu in that sweet, gooey, glistening sauce you find in every North Americanized, Chinese restaurant then this absolutely does the trick.

Of course I was out of vegetable stock and didn't have any green onions but the sauce still tasted great using water and a regular onion finely chopped.   The only thing I will do differently next time is cut the tofu into smaller bite-sized chunks.  One inch square pieces of tofu are too much for me in one mouthful especially when the tofu is firm.  Also, be sure to not crowd the pan when frying the tofu because the corn starch makes the pieces stick together.  You will find the recipe here at Vegweb.  Tasty. 

Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili



Prepping the Butternut Squash


A few months ago I purchased a cookbook by Robin Robertson called Vegan Planet: 400 Irrestistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the World.  Whew, that's a long title!  Until today, I hadn't had time to really read through the book page by page but am I ever happy to have picked this up.  It's chock full of delicious sounding recipes.  I've already made note of at least 50 that I want to try and I'm only about half way through.  

For the cooking challenge this week I'm making Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili on page 316.  The recipe called for a cup of apple juice which I didn't have so I substituted some of my daughter's peach cocktail which contains apple juice and half of a leftover applesauce cup I found languishing in the back of the fridge.  It smelled really appetizing while it was cooking!    The peach juice added a little extra sweetness and an interesting flavour.  I want to make this again using the apple juice.  I also think the squash to bean ratio was a bit off, it may be that my squash was too large but next time I won't use the entire thing.   The whole family enjoyed this dish served over either quinoa or rice.      


Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili




Served with Quinoa


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This week Kathryn from The Hedgehog in the Kitchen was run off her feet.  But, she did have time to create a simple rice pudding dish to satisfy a late night sweet craving.

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

Lasagna a la Leftovers!

Lasagna a la Leftovers!

We've had a busy week house hunting, (eating crap while on the road) and I was craving something comforting as well as nourishing so I decided to throw together a lasagna for dinner tonight.   Using the tofu basil ricotta recipe from The Post Punk Kitchen and digging through the bottom of my vegetable drawer, I came up with a couple of old zucchinis and some mushrooms to use add some interest.   I had just enough leftover homemade tomato-vegetable sauce languishing in the fridge to make this work.   I sliced and roasted the zucchinis for a bit and then sauteed an onion with the mushrooms.  Layering as follows; sauce, noodles, zucchini, the tofu-ricotta mixture and then more sauce followed by noodles, mushroom and onions, tofu-ricotta, sauce, noodles and then the remainder of my Daiya cheese.   Not bad!   Next time I'll leave off the Daiya cheese.  I don't think I'm a fan and I figured out why tonight.   It has this strange almost sweet flavour that doesn't sit well with me.  I can live without it. 

Vegan Cooking Challenge - Week 3

Wow, we are already on week three of our cooking challenge and I'm happy to report that this week's dish was a success.  My first attempt from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Vegan Table was a winner.  In a traditional Pad Thai there's more of a tangy, tomato base but in Colleen's version, the sauce is a sweet and slightly spicy, peanut sauce.  Some of my favourite foods - rice noodles, broccoli, garlic and crispy, seasoned tofu were smothered in a lime, tamari, peanut butter combination.   It pulled together fairly quickly even with a few separate steps.  While the noodles soak in boiling water, the tofu is sauteed, set it aside and then the veggies are cooked.  Everything is thrown together along with the sauce and quickly heated.  I was surprised at how fast I had dinner on the table.  After my last two or three disappointments I'm ecstatic to have discovered a meal I'd be happy to make again.  I didn't get a great photo of the plated food so you'll have to make due with two cooking shots.  

Pad Thai before the sauce hits.

And now it's Jeannette's turn with two submissions!

This week’s meal was a bit of a challenge. We had extensive flooding and the city had to restrict water usage due to a break in the water main. Along with the restriction, the water from the tap had to be boiled. I had way too many veggies in the fridge that had to be used up. The first dish I prepared was Tofu Aloo Gobi from the book Vegan Express by Nava Atlas. For this recipe I only omitted the cilantro, which I don’t care for, and I added an extra ½ cup of green peas.

The resulting dish was very tasty and very low fat. A lot of Indian food can be rather heavy, with lots of cream and butter. This dish had all the great taste without the heaviness. I did miss the creamy texture, so I may add a bit of coconut milk next time. , as there wasn’t much sauce in the pan. We ate this dish as is, the potatoes providing the starch. I added raisins to my bowl, because I love raisins!

Tofu Aloo Gobi

My second dish is my own creation for using up zucchini. So, I’ll call it Summer Veggie Skillet. This week’s version is as follows:

3 leeks, sliced

3 large tomatoes, chopped

1 large bell pepper, chopped

3 medium zucchini, sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

I tried to get everything about the same size. I cooked the leek in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Then I added the tomatoes and bell pepper and cooked them while prepping the zucchini. Then I added the zucchini, and then the hot pepper. I just cover and let this simmer, stirring occasionally, adding back the liquid from the lid. (You may need to add a splash of water if it dries out). I seasoned with a teaspoon of Italian herbs (dried in a jar mix). I cook this until everything is tender. I serve this over couscous. My husband loves it.

I usually make this dish with eggplant, more bell peppers, and no tomatoes, using water in their place. I have also added Italian dressing as the “sauce” on a whim. It is easy to make, uses up all the extra veggies and it freezes well. I will put this in my husband’s lunch in January!

Summer Veggie Skillet

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. 

Spaghetti and Beanballs - Vegan Cooking Challenge

This was an insanely busy week and thankfully I had decided ahead of time to prepare something relatively simple.  My challenge recipe for week two was Spaghetti and Beanballs from Veganomicon.  The bean balls are made with mashed up kidney beans, seasonings, bread crumbs and some wheat gluten.  We liked them but weren't thrilled so to speak.  I guess I'm not a huge kidney bean fan because they tasted too bean-y to me.  The leftovers are going to work with my husband.    Next week I promise to make something more attractive and hopefully delicious! 

Spaghetti and Beanballs

And here is Jeannette's yummy looking submission:

We had a rather late breakfast today, so we didn’t want a big meal. I decided to prepare Curried Cashew Couscous from the book Vegan Express by Nava Atlas. This dish was very quick to prepare, as the recipe promised. I did leave out the ginger and the scallions (I don’t like either taste), and I added an extra ½ cup of green peas. I don’t own any “fragrant” oils, like walnut oil, so I used 2 tablespoons of good quality virgin olive oil.


The resulting dish was very pretty to look at, slightly orange from the curry and turmeric. The peas and dried cranberries added a nice pop of color. The curry was very subtle, but tasty. You could add more curry and/or the ginger for a spicier taste, but it isn’t necessary.

I am surprised by the high calorie count per serving in the nutritional information given with the recipe. There are 400 cal for the cashews and 260 for the oil, which comes to 165 cal/serving at 4 servings. That leaves another 250 calories per serving for everything else, so I think 414 cal/serving is high, especially as it makes a lot. I think it is a pretty healthy and tasty side dish. We ate it warm, but it could be good cold. I think I might add more fruit to it, too, like apples, or maybe shredded carrots.

Curried Cashew Couscous

Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream

I'm so excited!  For the first week of the vegan cooking challenge I decided to make Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream from Veganomicon.  I wanted to attempt something completely new and a little bit fancy in honour of my husband's birthday.  There is quite a bit of prep work involved in this recipe.  Eggplant, zucchini and potatoes were peeled, sliced and roasted on trays.  I seem to have severely underestimated the amount of shrinkage the vegetables would undergo and only prepared one tray for each.   I would recommend doing one and a half or two trays of each to end up with enough for layering.  As the veggies roasted, I prepared the tomato based sauce on the stove and the pine nut cream in the food processor.  Once all of the components were ready, the layering began and then back into the oven it went.   

I was a little disappointed in the flavour of this dish.  I've never had regular moussaka so I had nothing to compare it to but for the same amount of effort I would much rather eat a scrumptious lasagna.   I'm not sure if I did something wrong apart from over-roasting the potatoes and I am quite obssessed with eggplant so I was sure this was going to be a hit.  I'm glad I gave it a go even though it turned out to be not among my favourites from this collection.  

Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream

Joining me in the challenge is my talented friend Jeannette who does not (yet) have her own food blog.  She has submitted the following:  

For my first entry in the Vegan Cooking Challenge, I made a zucchini cake that I found posted on The Post Punk Kitchen.  But, as my husband will attest, I never follow a recipe to the letter. SO, I read the posts following the original recipe post and made a few adjustments of my own. Here is my modified recipe:

Ingredients

3 cups grated, unpeeled, fresh zucchini
2 ripe bananas, mashed well
1/2 cup canola oil
3 cups flour
1 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. Vanilla

I omitted the ground walnuts and the chocolate chips. I also took the cake out of the pan after 5 minutes and ate it warm.

My Results:

I got a sweet, moist and firm zucchini cake. It was not as “tender” as it would have been with the full cup of oil, but it was not dry. I could have used a tablespoon or two of liquid to thin the batter, because it was fairly stiff. I never peel zucchini before grating; I like the green flecks. I mixed the sugar into the flour by mistake. If I had mixed it into the wet ingredients, it might have helped pull some of the liquid out of the zucchini. But, it didn’t matter because this cake is very good, even with my modifications.

I am curious about using soda instead of baking powder. Soda needs an acid to react with. I wonder if baking powder should be used? Is this something vegans do not use?

Jeannette's Zucchini Cake