The Vegan Mouse

Curried Butternut Squash, Red Lentil and Noodle Soup

2012-01-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

I woke early at about 7:30 in the mood to cook something but not really sure what. I dithered about in the kitchen for a few hours, leafing through cookbooks while having my tea and toast. I noticed the butternut squash that had been sitting on my kitchen table for the past week and a half that I decided I was going to use but not sure how. At first I was going to make a raw grated butternut salad but as I was peeling the thing (not fun), my comfort food monster came out and decided to chop it all up and make soup instead. I followed the butternut squash and red lentil soup recipe from 1,000 Vegan Recipes and added cut vermicelli at the end to up the comfort food factor. The ginger, curry powder and cumin flavors are warming and delicious and the noodles make it extra good.

Inari Sushi.

2012-01-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

I love inari sushi. I've always wanted to make my own and I figured it would be easy as it's just sushi rice stuffed in a tofu pouch! I went to my local japanese grocery and picked up a packet of the tofu pouch (aburaage). I cooked up some sushi rice and grated some carrot into it for color and stuffed the pouches. Then all we had to do was dip into soy sauce (mixed with hot mustard or wasabi) and eat! Three of these was plenty for me. I packed some for lunch tomorrow.

Here's a basic recipe online.

Vegan Snack Time Again.

2012-01-22T12:55:00.001-08:00

Homemade "cheddar" from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. It's made out of almonds, roasted peppers, miso paste, nutritional yeast and other spices.

It slices well but is on the softer side. Very tasty though! I topped a wasa bread with the cheese and olive and red pepper salad.

Vegan Snack Time.

2012-01-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

I've been really into Wasa Crispbreads lately. Makes the perfect vegan snack paired with Wayfare Cheddar-Style spreads and fresh avocado salad.

Soy BBQ Curry

2012-01-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

Dang, I can't believe I made this. If you are a West LA local and a veggie who loves indian food, you probably know about Samosa House in Culver City. They make really good veggie indian food that I have had the pleasure to enjoy only a few times. My favorite dish of theirs is what they call "Soy BBQ" which is a curry full of soy chunks swimming in a dark red sweet and spicy bbq/curry sauce. After having it a few times, I was determined to make it. Only thing was I had no real idea what flavors I was tasting. It is sweet with slight curry flavors and a hint of spicy kick. Today I experimented and I think I came pretty darn close. Keep in mind these measurements are very loose as I was adding a little bit of this, a little bit of that as it simmered. You do what suits your palette.

Vegan Mouse Soy BBQ Curry

2 TB canola oil
1/2 a large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped eggplant (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp hot curry powder
1-14oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1-6oz can tomato paste
2-3 TB tamarind chutney
2-3 TB BBQ sauce (I used hickory bbq sauce)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups water or more
1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup tvp chunks (use more if you are not using chickpeas or eggplant)
1 TB olive oil

Heat canola oil in a pot and saute onions and garlic until soft and fragrant. Add the eggplant and cook until semi tender. Add the spices, tomatoes, tomato paste, chutney, bbq sauce, sugar, salt and water. Stir to break up the tomato paste and bring to a boil.

Add chickpeas and tvp chunks. Stir to make sure tvp chunks are submerged in the sauce so they will expand and soften. Then lower heat to low, cover with lid and let simmer. Every 10 minutes or so, stir. If you need to add more water, go ahead and do so. The tvp chunks should always be submerged in sauce. Also the sauce should be medium consistency and not too thick.

Continue to simmer covered for an hour and adjust spices and salt as you go. At the end, drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil and stir.

Seedy Corn-Tomato-Avocado Salad

2012-01-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

Got this recipe from my coworker who got it from a book called Going Raw. This was such a good salad with the creaminess from the avocado, the juicy tomatoes, zesty lime juice and crunchy pumpkin seeds. I also ate this on top of whole grain wasa crackers. Was so good!

Another sandwich and Cake!

2012-01-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

I made another of these lettuce/tomato/olive salad/avocado sandwiches. They are ridiculous.

Dessert was the yellow cake and chocolate icing recipe from The Complete Vegan Kitchen. I wanted to eat cake and this satisfied my craving very well.

I Love a Good Sandwich.

2012-01-08T11:22:00.001-08:00

This sandwich was calling my name so I gave in and bought a fresh baguette. I spread Vegenaise, dijon mustard and piled lettuce, avocado (hiding under the tomatoes!), tomatoes and homemade olive salad. Damn. This was so good.

Olive Salad Recipe

1/4 cup black olives, chopped
1/4 cup green olives, chopped
1/8 cup onion, chopped
1/8 cup pepperoncini peppers, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TB red wine vinegar
2 TB olive oil or more
Mix all ingredients together and store in a tupperware container in the fridge.

Healthy Kidney Bean and Veggie Shepherd's Pie

2012-01-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

I'm still in comfort food mode but what I've been eating over the holiday months have contained way too much sugar, fat, white bread, etc. I'm in the process of cleaning it up a bit and focusing on beans, whole grains, vegetables and lots of them. Today I eased into it by making this healthy version of a shepherd's pie. I sauteed onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers, broccoli and mushrooms and added kidney beans with veggie broth, miso paste and tamari soy sauce for flavor. I topped the pie with leftover mashed potatoes I had in the fridge that I didn't want to waste. I would have used sweet potatoes otherwise. The pie came out really delicious and I'm glad I was able to incorporate healthy beans and veg into this comfort food classic.

Pie out of the oven.

Potato Tacos.

2012-01-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Delicious potato tacos all fried and lovely.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread Pudding.

2011-12-11T18:03:00.001-08:00

This is a good one for the holidays. I got the recipe from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. I used a day old french loaf that I knew was not going to be eaten so I used it for this. I also had exactly 1 cup of pumpkin puree leftover from Thanksgiving that was hiding out in my freezer. 45 minutes later, we have bread pudding. It was so good, soft and tender with holiday flavors. Yummy.

Indian craving.

2011-12-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

Went out with my girlfriends last night and had some delicious vegan indian at Electric Karma in L.A. It really got me in the mood for it again so I made this potato, spinach and chickpea curry today. AND I made homemade roti for the first time. It was dead easy. Recipe here. For condiment, I had some jarred tamarind chutney that I thinned out with lemon juice and added ginger and cilantro. This food was very satisfying.

Once a Year Lasagna.

2011-12-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

It seems I only make lasagna once or sometimes twice a year. I could be wrong but that's what it feels like. I don't know why because I LOVE lasagna. Making a vegan one is super easy and just as good as any other. The trick is to have a good creamy "ricotta" that will give you that cheese-like taste and texture. I use the cashew tofu ricotta recipe from Veganomicon. Today's lasagna has spinach, mushrooms, onions, carrots and a nice tomato basil sauce.

Out of the oven.

And plated. View 1.

View 2.

After Thanksgiving Foods.

2011-11-27T09:30:00.001-08:00

This morning I was in the mood for a fluffy stack of pancakes so I went with my go-to recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance (also in the Vegan Brunch book). The recipe makes PERFECT pancakes. No eggs or dairy necessary!

When I was little, I used to make scrambled eggs with slices of processed Kraft singles on top which would melt and make the eggs very cheesy. I recreated that today with scrambled tofu and Daiya vegan cheddar. I sort of mixed in small slices of Daiya into the tofu while it cooked in the pan. It got all melty and gooey.

Yesterday's lunch was a very simple congee (rice porridge) made with carrots, celery and leftover Tofurky bits. Sriracha is a must when eating congee.

Fast donuts made out of Pillsbury crescent roll dough. Deep fried and dunked in cinnamon-sugar!

A Vegan Mouse Thankgiving.

2011-11-24T18:16:00.000-08:00

My Thanksgiving dinners for the past five years have been pretty much the same old comfort foods that I love. If you look at my past photos, they probably look very similar to this. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday!

Roasted brussels sprouts are amazing.

Roasted sweet potatoes are even more amazing.

Homemade herb stuffing was very tasty!

Actually, I've only had the Tofurky roast for the first time last year. Isn't it cute? I basted it with an orange juice, olive oil, soy sauce and fresh herbs mixture.

The whole lot. Also pictured: dijon glazed carrots, green bean casserole and lots of mashed potatoes and orange-herb gravy.

Pumpkin pie with maple cashew "cream".

Greek Beans, Lebanese Rice and Egyptian Basbousa.

2011-11-12T12:56:00.000-08:00

Last night my husband and I had a romantic night out and for dinner, we had Lebanese food which I'm crazy about. Got me in the mood to cook Mediterranean food this weekend.

I made "Gigantes" which are baked lima beans in a tomato and dill sauce. If you hate lima beans, try them this way. They bake up so tender and creamy with a simple and beautiful flavor combination of dill, tomatoes, onions and olive oil. The recipe is from "The Greek Vegetarian". I also made Lebanese rice pilaf. I love the little vermicelli noodles in it. The recipe is from "Tables of Lebanon".

For dessert, Egyptian basbousa! This is a very sweet semolina cake that has been drenched with sugar/orange flower water syrup. I got the recipe here. I used vegan shortening instead of butter, omitted the eggs and replaced with a little almond milk and 1/2 a tsp of cider vinegar. And I substituted soy yogurt for the yogurt.

This dessert is amazing! It's so tender and incredibly moist from the syrup. I think I need to work on the liquid to dry ingredient ratio. My cake fell apart a little because it was so moist. But that did not stop me from enjoying the hell out of it!

Lentils again! Egyptian Koshari.

2011-11-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Me and lentils are having a love affair this week! Since I've been veggie (over 5 years), I've grown to really love lentils. I think it may be my favorite protein source. Not only are lentils great for protein, they also lower your cholesterol, provide you with B vitamins, iron, fiber and no fat! One of the best things I love about them is that they are easy to cook and can be made into beautiful dishes like indian and nepali dahl, soups, curries and tonight's dinner, Egyptian koshari. Koshari is a quick, cheap vegetarian dish made of rice, lentils, pasta and tomato sauce. It's even quicker if you already have cooked rice in your kitchen like I did. I didn't have macaroni so I used mini penne. Worked great! Here's the link to the recipe. I didn't put fried onions on top because I was lazy but next time, that is happening for sure. Feel free to add spices like cumin, curry powder etc. to flavor the sauce.

Ok, bear with me...

2011-11-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted a lot in the past weeks so I apologize in advance that the photo you are going to see in this post is of the poorest quality. I just had my house fumigated you see, and after moving back in tonight after work, I was desperate for a warm and quick meal. I rooted through all my double bagged pantry goods and came up with red lentils, spices, vermicelli noodles, an onion and garlic. This is what I made, which is my take on a middle eastern lentil and noodles soup. Try it, it's so comforting and delicious! I was in such a hurry to eat, I forgot to take a photo of my bowl, so you'll see a pic of the leftovers at the end of this post.

Lentils and Noodles

1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
4 cups water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp. cumin (I couldn't find my cumin so I used garam masala, which is an indian mixed spice blend of cumin, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Hey at least there's cumin in it!)
1 tsp yellow curry powder
1/3 cup vermicelli noodles, broken up
1/2 onion, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.

Place lentils, water and garlic in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer until lentils get soft. In the meantime, saute the chopped onion in olive oil until nice and browned. Add the cooked onions, tomatoes, spices and noodles to the lentils and simmer on medium low until noodles are done. Stir as you go so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper. The soup will thicken up as it sits. You can eat this on it's own or on top of rice with a squeeze of lemon.

Picture of my leftovers that had been sitting for a while.

A little break from food posting...

2011-10-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Say hi to Buster.

He would say hi back, but he's shy.

Oatmeal, Walnut, Sultana and Cranberry Cookies

2011-10-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

Mmm. Recipe based off this one here.

Oven Baked Dirty Rice

2011-10-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

I was gifted with an amazing new vegan cookbook called The Complete Vegan Kitchen and I couldn't wait to use it. Tonight I made the dirty rice that was super easy and baked in the oven. I love these kinds of recipes where you throw stuff in a dish and sling it in the oven. I added black beans to my rice to add some protein. A very quick, tasty and complete meal for midweek. Can't wait to try more recipes from this book!

Moroccan Lentil Stew and Homemade Harissa

2011-10-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

I love to throw stuff in a pot and call it dinner. This is what happened tonight after a long day at work. I've made this before using this recipe, but this time I took some liberties and used red instead of brown lentils, and added other veggies like corn and zucchini. On top there is a blob of North African style chili paste, also known as "harissa". I love to eat this stew on top of rice. Lentils and rice. You can't go wrong.

I must have been anticipating a Moroccan/North African flavor because I made the harissa over the weekend. I used New Mexico and Japones dried chilies, LOTS of garlic, mint, coriander, caraway, cumin and olive oil. It is SO FREAKING GOOD.

Veggie Chopped Salad & Cider

2011-10-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

Dinner was this beautiful chopped salad with sauteed veggies, sauteed tofu, garlic croutons and homemade ranch dressing.

After being tossed in ranch.

Washed it all down with Magners.

Black Bean "Chilaquiles". Sort Of.

2011-10-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

A bag of fresh tortilla chips from my local latin market gave me the inspiration to throw this together. I didn't have any vegan cheese so I made a creamy sauce made from plain soymilk, onions, garlic, pureed dried chilies and nutritional yeast. I layered the chips with the sauce, black beans cooked in a zesty tomato sauce and corn kernels and baked in the oven for 20 minutes. Came out tasty!

With a dollop of Vegenaise on top. Yummeh.

Indian food craving.

2011-10-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

When I crave Indian, I must have it! I went all weekend craving a good curry and even though I had a lentil dahl at a non-indian restaurant on Saturday, it didn't cut it. Came home and made my favorite: channa masala. I usually add peas to mine so I don't think that part is authentic. But the taste was amazingly authentic. I ate it with rice, mini chapati and tamarind chutney to complete my indian feast. Recipe here.

One Pot Chili Mac.

2011-09-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

I love easy cooking, especially on a Friday night after a long work week. I just want something fast and instantly gratifying. This one pot chili mac was the perfect thing. It was completely made up on the spot with a few ingredients. I love that you don't have to cook the macaroni seperately, it all goes in the same pot with the sauce!

One Pot Chili Mac

3 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 a large green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB tomato paste
2 TB chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni pasta
2 1/2 cups boiling water (put the kettle on while you chop veggies)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce, any kind (I used Prego Veggie Smart)
1 14oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

In a large pot on medium high, heat olive oil and saute the onion, bell pepper and garlic until veggies get fairly soft. Add tomato paste and spices and stir to coat veggies in spices. Add the macaroni, boiling water, spaghetti sauce and turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Add kidney beans and stir. Lower heat to medium and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes and then stir pasta to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cover again and cook for another 7 minutes. Remove lid and stir for 3 minutes or so to make sure pasta doesn't stick to bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

"Steak" and mushroom pie.

2011-09-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

My neighbor was the one who inspired me to make this dish. She had a photo assignment to photograph the pub food at Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica. Her photos of the steak and mushroom (or it could have been steak and ale) pie looked amazing. I said to her: "I'm going to make that!" And so I did.

This is the filling of soy chunks, vegetables and mushrooms in a savory gravy.

Finished pie out of the oven.

I didn't have potatoes so I made cauliflower mash instead!

Steak and mushroom pie

3 TB vegan margarine + 2 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 cup dry protein soy chunks rehydrated in boiling water until soft.
2 TB flour
1 cup veggie broth
1 tsp red miso
1/2 tsp vegemite or marmite
1 TB tomato paste
1 TB vegan worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp thyme
1 container mushrooms sliced
salt and pepper to taste
frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed (a good vegan brand is Pepperidge Farm)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Put the kettle on and boil water and pour over soy chunks in a bowl and let sit until soy chunks are soft.

3. Drain the hydrated soy chunks and put them in to a bowl. Add a couple of TB of flour and toss to coat the soy chunks.

4. Heat margarine in a pan on med high heat. Add soy chunks to pan and brown evenly, about 5 minutes. Remove soy chunks from pan and set aside.

5. Add oil to the pan and add the vegetables. Cook for a about 4 minutes. Then add vegetable broth, miso, marmite, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce and thyme to the pan. Cook for a few more minutes and then add the mushrooms. Add the soy chunks back to the pan, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover and simmer until veggies are tender.

6. Pour mixture into a baking dish and top with puff pastry sheets. Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden and puffy.

Pie poured over cauliflower mash. This was SO TASTY.

Hot Days and Salads.

2011-09-07T19:26:00.001-07:00

It was a hot day and I was in the mood for a salad for dinner. So I texted my husband from work with a grocery list. My salad has romaine, arugula, sauteed tofu, cranberries, and walnuts. I made a really good dressing with walnut oil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon, agave and soy sauce.

Orzo with White Beans and Greens

2011-09-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

This is a very simple yet delicious recipe for orzo, a tiny rice shaped pasta. I sauteed a combination of mustard, turnip and collard greens in olive oil with garlic, white beans, grape tomatoes, fresh dill and olives. Then I tossed with cooked orzo, added more olive oil and lemon juice and topped with bread crumbs. Recipe adapted from The Olive and The Caper Cookbook.

A Quick Vegan Caesar Salad

2011-09-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

When inspirations strikes you have to go with it. I came home from a nice outing with my husband and I had in mind for dinner some kind of greek dish with orzo, beans, mustard greens, dill, olive oil... But then I got lazy and when I saw that I had romaine, tofu and a day old french bread, I decided to change gears and throw together a quick caesar salad. Here's what I did.

First, I made homemade croutons. I cubed a loaf of day old french bread and tossed them with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I baked them in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I sauteed cubed tofu in olive oil, soy sauce and some seasonings. This takes only about five minutes. You can use what you like. I had sansho spice which has a mixture of red chili, seaweed, sesame and sansho pepper. Set tofu aside to cool.

When croutons are done, set them aside to cool as you make a quick dressing. I stirred in a salad bowl, 1/4 cup of vegan mayo with a 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard, garlic powder, a dash of salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar. I tossed some romaine lettuce in the dressing, then added the croutons and tofu. Dinner was great! Tomorrow, stay tuned for that orzo dish. It might just happen.

Good stuff to eat.

2011-08-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry, been so lazy with the blogging lately! I've had several meals that I forgot to blog about and here's one of them. It's fried tofu with a tamarind/hoisin glaze. That's coleslaw on top.

Kidney bean curry when I was craving indian food.

Deeelicious flaky and tender biscuits! They are great on their own and perfect with margarine and jam. Me+tea+biscuits=happiness.

I got this recipe from bazu over at the ppk forums. Here it is veganized:

Recipe James McNair's Buttermilk biscuits:  
1/2 c. solid vegetable shortening (I used Earth Balance stick) 
2 c. all-purpose flour 
2 tsp. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. baking soda 
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. soymilk whisked together with 1 tsp. vinegar

Position rack in middle, preheat oven to 400 spray baking sheet with oil or line with parchment, set aside in a bowl or food processor, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. cut in the shortening with your fingertips or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. (I used a fork) Add soymilk/vinegar and stir just until the mixture sticks together.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly and quickly, about 30 seconds. using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out about 1/2 inch thick. using a floured 2 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter, cut out circles. Place onto the prepped baking sheet.  Bake until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Serve piping hot.  I got about 10 biscuits out of this, plus a bunch of loose ends that I'm saving in the freezer to use as dumplings.

Chili Dogs and Chinese Chicken Salad with No Chicken.

2011-08-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's chili made fantastic meaty chili dogs! YUM! Veggie dogs are Lightlife Smart Dog brand which I found at Albertson's.

Didn't really go with my chili theme but I've been craving a good asian slaw with a spicy peanut sauce which had peanut butter, cayenne pepper, sesame oil, rice vinegar, cider vinegar, agave and soy sauce. I made the salad with napa cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, cilantro, cashews, mandarin oranges and fried chow mein noodles. It was so fresh and tasty.

Vegan Cowboy Chili and Cornbread.

2011-08-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

I know this is more fall food than summer food but really, who turns down a steaming bowl of chili with a slab of cornbread? I've made this cowboy chili before. The trick is soaking dried chili peppers and pureeing them and adding the dark red emulsion into the chili. It creates a very complex flavor with some great heat. For the "meatiness", I used tvp chunks and tvp crumbles. Recipe here.

This is the famous PPK cornbread that I absolutely love. Makes good corn muffins too!

Another Salad and Microwave Chocolate Cake!

2011-08-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, these salads at home are starting to get better and better. I've had three in three nights so far. This one has butter lettuce, radicchio, arugula, tofu, cranberries, raisins, walnuts and pluots with a dijon/balsamic/sesame dressing. Was good.

Ok, so this is for the desperate only. There's a recipe on vegweb called "Absolutely Divine Microwave Cake" and let me tell you, if you are craving something sweet and you have to have it now, then follow this recipe. I didn't have chocolate chips so I used dairy free white chocolate. I've made it with chocolate chips and it's better that way. My chocolate topping is Pillsbury dark chocolate fudge frosting melted in the microwave and poured on top. I know I know, microwaves are not the top choice to cook in but I was desperate!

Salad Oh Salad.

2011-08-17T18:48:00.001-07:00

I have to say, being a vegan I am not a salad person. I like vegetables and leafy greens but I just can't get all excited about salads. In order for me to order salads at restaurants (especially vegan restaurants where I can get any kind of indulgent meat free option), it has to be chock full of enticing stuff with a really good dressing. Tonight I made this salad because my friend Maile at work always brings these amazing kale salads with tofu, nuts, cranberries and other greens. I kind of wanted something similar to that. I raided my fridge and tossed together romaine, arugula, edamame, bell peppers, corn, walnuts, cranberries with a teriyaki-sesame dressing. And to top it all off, I added sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onions. Now this is a salad worth getting excited about. I ate it all. :)

Miso Mac

2011-08-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, the macaroni is green. And here's why, the sauce is made from broccoli! In The Veggie Lover's Cookbook, there's a recipe called Miso Macaroni that uses cooked broccoli and onions as a base for a sauce in which you add white miso, nutritional yeast, vegan margarine and tamari. I made a quick version by steaming broccoli, onions and sliced carrots in the microwave, threw them in the blender along with the other ingredients and blitzed away until smooth. Then heated up the sauce, added crushed chili flakes and tossed in cooked macaroni. Dinner took about 15-20 minutes.

Asian Persuasion.

2011-08-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

I wasn't initially in the mood for asian food but when faced with a block of tofu and a bag of green beans, this was the only thing I could come up with. I sauteed the tofu in olive oil, regular soy sauce, mushroom soy sauce, plum sauce, a splash of rice vinegar, garlic, sansho pepper and crushed chili flakes. Served with steamed green beans and rice with a healthy squirt of Sriracha. Pretty tasty if I do say so myself.

Oatmeal & Buckwheat Healthy Cookies

2011-08-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

I was in a baking mood last night at 8pm and made these on the fly. I wanted a somewhat healthy, hearty cookie and decided to use up the buckwheat flour that was hanging out in the fridge. I basically took a vegan oatmeal raisin cookie recipe and switched out the white flour for buckwheat. I definitely need to tweak this recipe because the cookies were very fragile and tended to fall apart if you pick them up. I added a bunch of healthy stuff like walnuts, almonds, sesame seeds, cranberries, sultanas and dark raisins. They're tasty but need work.

Fried Rice and Avocado Pesto Pasta

2011-08-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

I whipped up this fried rice from last night's brown rice, the leftover veggies, added some broccoli, tofu, onions, garlic, ginger, mushroom soy sauce and ketchup. Threw it all into the wok on high and dinner was ready in minutes.

I made this dish over the weekend which was inspired by Giada DeLaurentis' avocado and arugula pesto. I made mine with less arugula, more basil and instead of parmesan, I used almonds and miso paste.

Macrobiotic Meal.

2011-07-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

Brown jasmine rice, steamed carrots and green beans, baked yam, gingered black beans with miso-sesame dressing and a wakame salad that I forced myself to eat. I hate seaweed.

So. I'm trying to cut back on overly processed foods and fat. I've been a giant stressball these past few months and my diet has been poorly because of it. I've been leaning far too much on white bread, frozen veggie burgers, sweets, sweets and more sweets. I have a macrobiotic cookbook called The Self Healing Cookbook by Kristina Turner that emphasizes macrobiotic eating as a way towards a balance of your mind, moods and body. It favors whole grains such as brown rice, millet, quinoa, barley etc as a staple and to be eaten with fresh, unprocessed foods such as vegetables, beans, sea vegetables and some minimally processed soy foods like tempeh and tofu. Easy enough I thought. I'd like to eat several meals a week like this but I'd have to do more research to make it interesting. Tonight's dinner was pretty basic and kinda boring. But at least it's a starting off point.

Chickpea Salad Melt

2011-07-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

This takes me back to when I was living at my college dorm in the mid 90's. The decor was very dated as was the food in the dining halls. The starchy greasy food made me gain the Freshman 40. Awesome right? Well, one of those foods was the tuna melt. Toasty bread, mayonnaise-y tuna salad and melted cheese on top. I decided to re-create that dish today, vegan style.

The first thing I did was make the tuna salad equivalent. I made chickpea salad out of mashed chickpeas, chopped celery, red onion, vegan mayonnaise (Vegenaise brand), garlic powder, onion powder, a touch of mustard, salt and pepper. The proportions are up to you, taste as you go. If you want a "fishy" taste, you may add dulse or nori flakes. Next, I made the "cheese" sauce. The recipe I used is very similar to the "Cheese Sauce" recipe you'll find here. It's the 3rd recipe down. You don't have to make the whole amount, cut the recipe in half if you want. You can always store the rest in the fridge for later. Ok, so after that, I assembled the sandwich. I buttered a slice of whole grain bread with Earth Balance margarine, spooned some chickpea salad on top, dolloped a couple TB of cheese sauce and put it under the broiler for several minutes so the toast browned and the sauce got all bubbly.

Buckwheat Pancakes

2011-07-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

This morning I made the buckwheat pancakes from the Vegan Brunch cookbook. They were easy to prepare and are gluten free. I used a combination of buckwheat flour and corn flour. These were really good with Earth Balance margarine, maple syrup and a blob of apple butter. Yummy.

Tofu Bean Burgers, BBQ Pinto Beans, Raw Slaw, Spicy Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-07-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Stayin' in for "Carmegeddon" weekend and to prepare for it, I made an array of comforting foods to enjoy.

These tofu-bean burgers are the best. I try not to eat too many frozen veggie burgers so homemade is the way to go. Recipe here. I topped them with grilled onions and a homemade thousand island sauce.

This came to be when I noticed way too many cans of plain pinto beans in my pantry. I flipped through my "366 delicious ways to cook rice, beans and grains" book and saw a recipe for Slow Cooked Spicy Barbecue Pinto Beans. I loosely followed the recipe in which I mixed tomato sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, onions and garlic with the beans and let them slow cook in the oven.

Beautiful 'Raw Slaw' from the "Urban Vegan" cookbook. Since all the other dishes are kind of hearty and rich, I wanted a lighter coleslaw with an oil and vinegar based dressing. This one is perfect.

And dessert is always something I like to have on the weekends. This is the Mexican chocolate cake recipe with shop bought chocolate fudge frosting (I think it's Pillsbury).

Piro Aloo: Spicy Potatoes

2011-07-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

The kind folks from Wisdom Publications sent me an advanced reader's copy of a new veggie cookbook coming out called "Veggiyana: The Dharma of Cooking"* by Sandra Garson. It just came in the mail this morning and I was so eager to cook from it that I picked out one of the simple recipes for lunch. I've only glanced through the book and already I know I'm going to love cooking from it. The recipes are wholesome, nutritious and simple and express the author's premise that fueling the body with the right foods are the keys to a healthy mind and body. There are 108 recipes (the number of beads on a buddhist mala) from around the world including salads, stews, dhals, noodles, rice and vegetable dishes.

This is a Nepali potato dish called piro aloo which is beautifully spiced with arbol chili powder, cumin, garlic, turmeric and green chiles. I overcooked my potatoes a little so they didn't get as crisp as they should have. But no matter, this was so delicious and reminded me of a spicy exotic version of home fries! As you know I love cooking Nepali food so I will be adding this dish to my Nepali repertoire.

*Note: This is a vegetarian book as some recipes require eggs and dairy. There are a lot of vegan recipes though!

Gardein Mandarin Orange Chick'n

2011-07-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

I've had gardein meatless products before so I was sure this was going to be good. I found it in my grocer's freezer and all you have to do is saute it frozen straight out of the bag until it gets browned and there's a sauce pouch that you defrost in hot water and goes into the pan at the end. Took about 8 minutes to do, just like it says on the bag!

Here we are on top of steamed rice with a side of broccoli and a healthy squirt of Sriracha. It was very tasty. The sauce was pleasant and not too sweet and the texture of the fake meat was nice and chewy, not quite like real chicken but close enough for me. Yum. I don't eat fake meats often so this was a treat.

Vegan Red Wine Bolognese and Vegetable Biriyani

2011-07-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's dinner was this comforting bowl of rigatoni with red wine bolognese sauce. I used TVP (textured vegetable protein) which gave it the perfect "meaty" texture. The parmesan-like topping is almonds/miso/nutritional yeast/salt.

Tonight's dinner was this simple vegetable biriyani from Flavors of India cookbook. It is flavored with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.

Red Wine Bolognese Recipe

2 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. fennel seed
1 tsp. oregano
2 cans diced tomatoes (I puree them in a blender first)
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup TVP
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, carrot, celery and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add herbs and stir for a bit. Add tomatoes and red wine and sugar and bring to a boil. Add TVP and cook for a couple minutes. The hot liquid will soften and rehydrate the TVP. Add a little water if too thick. Lower heat to simmer covered for 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Vegetable Pakora

2011-07-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I made vegetable pakora (deep fried battered vegetables) and they came out so good. The recipe is from Flavors of India and it was super easy.

Here are the vegetables mixed in the batter made from garbanzo flour, water, lemon juice, baking powder and spices.

Out of the oil.

YUM.

My cousin Andrea enjoying the pakora. She loved them.

Hawaiian Veggie Burger

2011-07-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th! Today we made veggie burgers and I made mine hawaiian style. I have been craving this for a while now. Before I was veggie, I loved Island's Restaurant Hawaiian burger which had a sweet teriyaki sauce and grilled pineapple. I created my own by using the sauce recipe from here, cooked up a Boca vegan burger and added grilled onions and pineapple. It was so good and satisfied my craving. I also made homemade baked fries on the side.

Potato Kibbe (Potato & Bulgur Pie)

2011-07-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

Got this delicious recipe from a fantastic cookbook, "Classic Vegetarian Cooking From The Middle East and North Africa". It's a mashed potato and bulgur dish with a layer of sauteed onions and almonds in the middle layer. I think mine could have been crisper and browner on the top but I was so impatient to eat that I have burnt roof of mouth as result!

Served with a lemon garlic sauce (vegan mayo, lemon juice, garlic, salt, parsley).

Casserole Sunday.

2011-06-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm in serious need of comforting this weekend so I made my old standby. Yummy quinoa/pinto bean/broccoli slaw/tofurky sausage filling inside tortillas doused in chipotle tomato sauce and a Vegenaise drizzle. Recipe here. Change up the veggies like I did if you wish.

Served with steamed broccoli.

Khichadi.

2011-06-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

This is a basic indian porridge of rice and mung beans. You may use any other kind of lentil if you wish. This reminds me very much of jok or kao thom in Thai which is a basic rice porridge, without beans but usually with added meat or vegetables. I grew up eating kao thom on days when your stomach isn't feeling well or when you are sick. Today I needed some cheering up and I wanted to enjoy some kind of comfort food. I chose to make khichadi because I like the addition of mung beans for protein.

Here's a good recipe online. It says to soak the mung beans and rice but I didn't do that. I also used white rice instead of brown. The spices I used in mine were: cumin, turmeric, grated ginger, veggie broth powder and mushroom soy sauce. The Sriracha hot sauce on top is essential!

Roasted and Sauteed.

2011-06-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner featured roasted broccoli and cauliflower. If you haven't tried roasting these vegetable, you must! So much better than boring steamed vegetables. Toss cauliflower and broccoli in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees F on a baking pan for about 30 minutes until golden.

I made oven baked risotto yesterday which made a ton of leftovers so I had that with sauteed Tofurky vegan sausages, onions and mushrooms. Everything was so good and so filling. I'm very full right now.

Crunchy Kidney Bean Salad

2011-06-06T12:03:00.001-07:00

Got this recipe from my friend's vintage cookbook. I absolutely love foods that are bathed in mayo, don't you?

Crunchy Kidney Bean Salad

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup diced celery
1/3 cup diced sweet pickles (I used sweet relish)
1/2 cup sliced olives (optional)
2 TB snipped scallions
1/4 cup mayo (I used Vegenaise)
3 TB chili sauce (Heinz)
1/2 tsp salt
Mix all ingredients together, chill and serve on lettuce leaves.

Adapted from Good Housekeeping's Book of Salads, 1958, volume 6

Szechuan Noodles with Tempeh

2011-06-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

This comes together quickly if you have instant ramen noodles. Just cook them up, drain them and set aside. Meanwhile, steam broccoli and carrots and stir fry onions, cubed tempeh and spinach. Heat up sauce until bubbly, turn off heat and toss noodles and all veggies and tempeh together. Very yummy with extra sriracha chili sauce on top!
Recipe here.

Pav Bhaji.

2011-05-29T10:08:00.001-07:00

Indian cravings call for a spicy mashed vegetable curry (bhaji) served with "buttered" bread (pav). Pav Bhaji is a popular street food in Mumbai which is a potato based curry that is mashed up with a variety of veggies, spices and tomato until it becomes thick and saucy. I like to leave some of the vegetables chunky in mine. The recipe I use calls for cauliflower as one of the ingredients but I didn't have any so I used a 1/2 bag of "mixed vegetables including lima beans" that I found in my freezer. Worked in a pinch with the potatoes and 1/2 bell pepper I had. The curry is eaten with buttered buns which I didn't have (shame!) so I made do with pita breads spread with Earth Balance vegan margarine. I served it with mango ginger chutney, chopped red onion and a squeeze of lemon. This was SO DELICIOUS. I have to remember next time not to wear a white shirt when eating this!

Here's a link to the recipe. Don't forget to sub Earth Balance for the butter!

Pita Pizza.

2011-05-21T19:47:00.001-07:00

This is a result of using what you have. Pita bread + Daiya vegan cheese + red onions = delicious and crispy pizza.

Persian Red Lentil Dip

2011-05-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Made a yummy dip today with red lentils. The recipe calls for sweet potato but I didn't have any so I used a regular potato and added some cumin and lemon for a different flavor profile. It is really yummy. Recipe here. Oh, and before you ask, I have no idea if this recipe is really persian!

Tofu Jambalaya

2011-05-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

I usually make this with Tofurky vegan sausage but didn't have any so I substituted tofu. I sauteed the tofu a bit in olive oil, smoked paprika, liquid smoke and cayenne for some extra flavor. Worked out deliciously if I do say so myself!

Jambalaya

4 TB olive oil
2 links Tofurky Italian sausage, sliced into chunks OR cubed extra firm tofu
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups white rice
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you don't want it too spicy.)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot at medium heat and saute sausage chunks or tofu until browned. Remove sausage and set them aside. Add onion, green pepper, celery and garlic to the pot and saute until slightly softened. Stir in rice and vegetable broth. Add tomatoes to the pot with the juice. Add spices and browned sausage. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to low and simmer covered for 30 minutes or until rice is tender.

Chili Dog Craving.

2011-05-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Was craving chili dogs today so instead of buying one of those high sodium vegetarian chilis in a can, I made it from scratch which is sooo much better.

A Lightlife Smart Dog covered in chili, chopped onion and Daiya vegan cheese. This was so sloppy, it had to be eaten with a knife and fork. It was really good and satisfied the craving. I now have lots of chili leftovers that I can use for chili fries or taco salad or a baked potato topping.

Vegetarian Chili

3 TB olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 TB ancho chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup water (or more)
1/3 cup Textured Vegetable Protein (you can find TVP at health food stores or latin markets. It's called "carne de soya")
2 TB tomato paste
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee onions, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat until soft. Add spices and tomatoes and stir. Add water and bring to a boil. Then add dry TVP and stir. The hot water will re-hydrate the TVP and it will look like ground beef. Add tomato paste and stir to dissolve the tomato paste. If the chili looks too thick, you can add a little more water. Turn heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add kidney beans and simmer for another 20-30 minutes. The longer the better. Season with salt and pepper.

A Dang Good Sandwich.

2011-05-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

Veggie ham, Daiya vegan cheese, tomato, sauerkraut, red onion, piccalilli, vegan mayo/ketchup on german sunflower rye. This was amazing.

In To Lunch.

2011-05-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't been out and about too much as I've been in search of a new job. So in between bouts of internet job searching and creative thinking time (painting or jewelry making), I whip up small meals for lunch and enjoy them here at home.

Yesterday I had this. Foul Muddammas (fava beans cooked with garlic, olive oil, lemon), za'atar dip (jordanian thyme, sesame and sumac with olive oil) and whole wheat pita. I know it's a bit of a beige looking meal but it was nothing but delicious, I tell you!

Today's lunch was more colorful. This is the Two Bean Salad with Tarragon Dressing from Vegetarian Times magazine. This was really delicious and quite filling too. Recipe here.

Kidney Bean Curry

2011-05-05T17:56:00.001-07:00

Indian curry tonight! I used a channa masala recipe but substituted kidney beans for the chickpeas. Deliciousness!

Indian in less than an hour.

2011-04-13T22:20:00.001-07:00

Check out this lovely plate of food. My co-worker Cynthia and I were talking indian food at work and we got so hungry and inspired that we decided to go to my house and make what you see here. I made the red lentil dal and mint chutney and Cynthia made the saag aloo (spinach and potatoes). It all turned out delicious and was so quick to make. It was really just throwing everything in a pot and letting it simmer. In case you're wondering, the mint chutney was made with Tofutti sour cream instead of yogurt.

Steamed Dumplings.

2011-04-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Steamed dumpling for dinner tonight! Filled with tofu, kale, cabbage, carrots, spinach and garlic. Yummy!

For dipping sauces we used:
mushroom soy sauce + dark sweet soy + scallions
sweet chili sauce
chinese mustard + soy sauce

Mock Chicken Salad Sandwich and Dal Makhani

2011-04-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

This was a quick lunch during the week. Mashed chickpeas combined with vegan mayo, celery, carrot, a touch of mustard, garlic powder and onion powder makes a delicious salad filling. I livened up the whole thing with a layer of Piccalilli relish.

I got the recipe for this tasty vegan Dal Makhani from the Holy Cow blog. It's sooo yummy! I used Earth Balance margarine and plain soymilk in mine for creaminess. I ate it with lavash bread instead of rice. Can't wait to make this again. Recipe is posted here.

Chinese-ish.

2011-03-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

Was in the mood for salty and sweet Chinese food today and came home to make the following:

Vegan Dad's recipe for Pan Fried Tofu in Plum Sauce. Absolutely delicious.

Veggie chow mein based of this recipe from the MediterrAsian website. I substituted vegetarian mushroom "oyster" sauce for oyster sauce and added Thai dark sweet soy sauce.

Chilaquiles Casserole and Coffee-Cinnamon Tea Cake

2011-03-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

I was craving mexican food this week and waited patiently to make this today. It's loosely based off this recipe. I made my own red sauce (recipe below), added an extra can of black beans, substituted chopped spinach for zucchini and used Daiya vegan cheddar. It turned out really yummy and satisfied my craving.

Red Sauce for Chilaquiles Casserole

Soak 5-6 dried chili peppers in hot tap water for about 20 minutes. I used a combination of anaheim and pasilla.

In a blender combine these ingredients and puree until smooth:
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
soaked chili peppers and about 1 cup of the soaking liquid (you may add more if sauce is too thick)
2 cloves garlic
small handful of cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
salt to taste
pinch of sugar

Yum.

I also made a cake today. I used kittee's vanilla cake recipe but used brewed coffee for the liquid part of the batter instead of water. I also added a bit of cinnamon. The coffee flavor didn't come out as much. If I had coffee extract or espresso powder, it would have been better but still this is very good, especially with tea.

Potato & Kale Enchiladas

2011-03-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

My friend Cynthia and her mom are wonderful cooks and today I got a recipe to make mole for enchiladas. The mole sauce is very simple to make with dried new mexico and pasilla chiles. Instead of baking the enchiladas in the oven, the tortillas are coated in the sauce, filled with cooked potatoes and kale and then pan fried in a little bit of oil to give a slightly crisp exterior. These are delicious!

Mole recipe from Cynthia's mom:

Ingredients:

Dried New Mexico chiles - about 5 or 6, remove seeds
Dried Pasilla - 1 or 2, remove seeds
1 garlic clove
small handful of cilantro
pinch of dried oregano
salt to taste

-Soak chiles in hot water until soft. (While these are soaking you can make your filling. I just boiled 2 large potatoes and mashed them with sauteed kale and onions and seasoned with salt and pepper.)
-After chiles are softened, blend all mole sauce ingredients together in the blender. (I added most of the water that they were soaking in to help them blend better into a nice thick sauce.)
-Pass mixture through a sieve into a pan.
-Simmer sauce with a little bit of oil for about 10 minutes.

To make enchiladas:

8 corn tortillas, softened in the microwave for about 20 seconds (or you can do this in a dry pan over heat)
olive oil

-Heat a little bit of olive oil in a pan. Dip one tortilla into the mole sauce and coat both sides. Place dipped tortilla on a plate and fill with about 2 TB of potato/kale mixture. Close up tortilla and place into the pan and brown on both sides. Do this with the remaining tortillas until you've used up the filling.

You can see the nice crust it forms from pan frying. Yummy!

Easy Weekend Food.

2011-03-12T12:13:00.001-08:00

Today was all about simple, easy to prepare food. The risotto was oven baked which left me with not much to do as the oven did it for me! I threw in a few handfuls of bagged broccoli slaw in with the risotto for some color. The cauliflower was tossed in a bit of olive oil and I popped that in the oven on a sheet pan while the risotto cooked. The chickpea dish was simply canned chickpeas tossed with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, mint, parsley and salt. Everything came out delicious.
You can find the risotto recipe here. You may omit the nutritional yeast if you don't have it. Tastes just as good without it. I left out the margarine which didn't affect the flavor at all. Make this, it's so good!

The coconut pudding was from The Vegan Family cookbook and has silken tofu, rice milk, coconut milk, cornstarch and sugar which simply got blended together, boiled and then refrigerated until chilled.

Szechuan Style Noodles.

2011-03-08T18:46:00.001-08:00

Yummy salty, spicy szechuan noodles for dinner tonight. This comes together in under 30 minutes. Here's the link to the recipe which I adapted:
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianchineserecipes/r/szechuannoodles.htm

Cowboy Chili.

2011-03-06T12:14:00.001-08:00

I finally got around to watching 'Brokeback Mountain' last night and aside from the fact that it made me weep, it put me in the mood for a hearty cowboy style chili. Got this recipe from Country Living website and veganized it by using tvp soy chunks instead of beef. It used corn masa mixed with water to thicken it in the end as well as pureed chiles that have been soaking which gives the chili an amazing red color. I'll post the recipe here with my substitutions.

Vegan Cowboy Chili

1 TB olive oil (plus a little more for later)
1 cup tvp chunks (plus boiling water to rehydrate)
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz. veggie broth or water
1 TB chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
2 cans beans (any kind), drained and rinsed
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
2 dried ancho chiles or any dried chiles you prefer
1 TB masa harina de maiz
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 TB cider vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar

Directions
1. Rehydrate tvp chunks: Put tvp in a bowl and pour boiling water to cover. Let sit for a little while. You will know that they are hydrated when you squeeze a piece between your fingers. It will be soft. If it's still firm, let soak longer. Drain water and setr tvp aside.
2. Rehydrate ancho chiles: Place them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them about a cup.
2. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. Saute onions on medium high until translucent about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add tvp chunks after they have been drained. Add a splash of olive oil and stir around to coat.
3. Add vegetable broth, chili powder, cumin, beans and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30-40 minutes or longer.
4. Puree the chiles: Remove and discard stems. Place softened chiles and the soaking liquid in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth -- 2 to 3 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the masa and water together. Stir masa mixture into the chili. Add ancho chili mixture, salt and vinegar and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Nepali food, Indian food and cake.

2011-02-27T13:47:00.001-08:00

Lunch today was this beautiful plate of Nepali food, namely the moong dal (split mung bean soup) in the little bowl and the hot and fiery tomato achaar (chutney) which you can see on the rice. The Indian element of my meal is the alu matar (potatoes and peas) which was the perfect curried accompaniment to the rice and soup. Just can't get enough of this good stuff.

This is a closeup of the roasted tomato hot and spicy achaar. It's basically roasted tomatoes, green chiles, garlic blended into a puree and combined with fresh garlic, ginger, timbur (szechuan pepper), salt, fenugreek and red chili. The recipe is from the book "Taste of Nepal" which I highly recommend!

This is a boiled raisin "depression era" cake that I've made before. This time I used brown sugar and added orange blossom water and cardamom.

Nepali dinner.

2011-02-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

I was in the mood for Nepali food tonight so out came my Taste of Nepal cookbook. First up, Moong Daal (yellow split mung beans) with red chilies, lots of ginger and garlic! It's a must to eat daal with rice. Sorry for the really bad photos, they seem to be super yellow!

It's good to have a curry to go along with your daal and rice. I made this mixed vegetable curry which was missing potatoes because I totally forgot that I had some! Too late. But this is still very good. Made with mixture of spices: timbur (szechuan peppercorns), fenugreek, garam masala, turmeric, asafetida and cumin.

While everything was cooking, I whipped up the No-Cook Tomato Achaar (chutney). It has fresh tomatoes, garlic, fresh ginger, timbur (szechuan pepper), hot green chilis, salt and lemon juice. The best way to eat this is to generously pour it all over your plate on top of the daal, rice and curry!

Spanish Rice and Beans

2011-02-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight's dinner was a very simple one pot dish, the 'spanish rice and beans' from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. It was very delicious.

Cheese n Pickle Sandwich, Tuscan Braised Beans

2011-02-14T17:11:00.001-08:00

This was my breakfast this morning. Daiya cheddar and Piccalilli on sunflower rye bread. It was sooo good. Must try this with Branston pickle next time!

I made the Tuscan Braised Beans from The Urban Vegan cookbook for dinner. It's so good with pita bread or even by itself! The beans were braised with olive oil, lemon, vinegar, garlic and sage. Yummy!

Tempeh Reuben & Orange Tea Cake

2011-02-13T11:50:00.000-08:00

Yummy tempeh reuben on german sunflower rye bread. That's Daiya cheddar!

A simple vanilla cake where I substituted oj and water for the liquid in the batter. I also added a bit of orange zest. This is perfect with tea.

Salad, Sandwich, Cake.

2011-02-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

This was my dinner tonight. My friend sprouted some mung beans and gave me some which I decided to use in this salad. I also added baked tempeh, tomatoes and creamy dijon dressing (dijon, vegenaise, red wine vinegar, garlic, sugar, pepper).

This was lunch sometime last week. Baked tofu sandwich!

And a yummy chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream that I made for Superbowl Sunday.

Baked Tofu Sandwich, TVP Indian Curry and Banana Split Tea Bread

2011-01-29T18:02:00.001-08:00

I made this sandwich last week using delicious baked tofu. Toast some whole grain bread, throw on some Vegenaise, lettuce, tomato and you've got a great lunch. Soy or tempeh bacon and avocado would be great additions as well.

Experimented with TVP chunks again to make this simple indian curry with kale and potatoes. It was so good on jasmine rice. I don't use TVP often so this was a nice treat.

This is the banana split tea bread recipe from Vegan Planet. It's so colorful and has bananas, walnuts, chocolate chips, cherries and coconut (my addition). It baked up beautiful but because of my wonky oven, it was a little underdone even though I checked it with a toothpick and it came out clean! WTH?

Thankfully the underdone bits are more "mushy banana" tasting rather than "uncooked batter" tasting.

Baked Tofu.

2011-01-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

I like to go to the Thai market and pick up a block of their fresh tofu and use the whole thing to make a batch of baked tofu. They are handy to keep in the fridge for snacking on cold, in sandwiches, heated up to eat with other side dishes etc. I make a marinade of olive oil, dijon, soy sauce, garlic powder, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and black pepper to brush on both sides of the tofu before baking at 400 degrees F for about half an hour, making sure to flip the slices halfway. Always turns out great!

First things I used it for was this spinach salad with green beans and balsamic vinaigrette. Today I used it in a sandwich with toasted bread, Vegenaise, lettuce and tomato. And when I got home from work, I snacked on a slice right out of the fridge. They come out so nice and chewy with lots of flavor from the marinade.

Espresso Fudge Brownies!

2011-01-22T23:27:00.001-08:00

I love baking at night after dinner. These turned out so good and fudgy!

'Use What You Have' Weeknight Meal.

2011-01-20T19:58:00.001-08:00

While at work today I was scanning my pantry and fridge in my mind trying to come up with an idea for supper. I came up with: potatoes, brown rice, cabbage, spinach and beans. So this is what I made with those items. It all came together in about an hour. I cooked up some brown rice first and while that was cooking, I made the potatoes. I sauteed onions and garlic with olive oil and then added cubed red potatoes and a bit of water. I let them cook covered until the potatoes were almost tender. Then I added a couple handfuls each of shredded cabbage (bagged coleslaw) and chopped spinach and seasoned with salt, pepper and Trader Joe's 21 Salute seasoning and let cook a little longer until potatoes were done. For the kidney bean salad, I just tossed the beans with a minced clove of garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried parsley, salt and pepper and chilled it in the fridge before dinner.

Boiled Raisin Cake, Greek Pastitsio, Potato Tacos

2011-01-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

I was looking up depression-era recipes and found this awesome boiled raisin cake recipe. During the depression, things like eggs and milk were scarce so homemakers would come up with easy desserts that didn't require any of those things. And in doing so, they made desserts that are inherently vegan, yay!

I loved this cake. It was moist yet still sturdy enough to spread Earth Balance buttery spread all over it. You'll find the recipe here.

Opened up "The Olive and The Caper" cookbook again which is becoming my favorite cookbook. I made the vegetarian pastitsio which is a layered pasta casserole with a layer of tomato sauce, cheese and vegetables in the middle and a saltsa besamel (white sauce) on top. I used Daiya vegan cheese and plain soymilk for the white sauce.

I took this pic right after it came out of the oven. I didn't let it sit for 15 minutes like I was supposed to so when I went to cut out a piece, it collapsed in my plate.

A while later, I served some to my father and this was his plate. Look at that cheesy crust on top that the white sauce made. Yummy!

My husband was going to his buddy's house for football and requested these mini potato tacos. I said "sure" and an hour later, these were ready to go!

Mexican Feast.

2011-01-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

Check out this fabulous feast! Chile con "carne" made with tvp chunks simmered in a roasted tomatillo, guajillo and arbol chile, onion, garlic, tomato sauce. And mexican rice and refried beans (with daiya) and tomatillo and avocado salsa! Who says vegans can't have yummy mexican food?

This was my first time using tvp chunks. The texture was very similar to chicken (I think!) and the sauce just made it so mouthwateringly delicious.

Chile Con "Carne"

A dozen tomatillos, husked and cleaned and halved
1-2 dried guajillo chiles
3-4 dried chile de arbol
1 can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups tvp chunks, rehydrated in boiling water and drained

Roast tomatillos in a 400 degree oven until soft and charred a bit.
Roast dried chiles either in a pan over heat or over an open flame with tongs.
Puree tomatillos and dried chiles in a blender. Add one can diced tomatoes and blend.
Heat olive oil in a pan and saute onion and garlic until soft. Add tvp and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt, pepper and cumin. Add puree to the pan and let simmer until heated through. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Tomatillo and Avocado salsa.

Recipe for salsa

3-4 tomatillos, husked, cleaned and chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded
cilantro, as much as you want
pinch of cumin
avocado chunks
a little bit of onion

Puree everything in a blender. Add salt to taste.

Awesome salad with romaine, avocado and a roasted tomato, red onion, dijon dressing.

Salad dressing recipe

1 large tomato, cut into wedges
1/4 red onion, chopped
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
a couple TB of olive oil
1 avocado, cut into chunks
salt and pepper

Roast tomatoes and red onions in a 400 degree oven until soft. Meanwhile whisk dijon and olive oil in a large bowl until combined. Add roasted tomatoes and onions and mash with the dijon and olive oil to create a smooth dressing. Add avocado and combine with dressing. You can mash up some of the avocado if you like. Season with salt and pepper. Add romaine lettuce to the bowl and toss everything together. All these recipes I got from a friend.

A Mediterranean Sunday Lunch.

2011-01-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

I was feeling ambitious today and made this beautiful array of foods for my lunch, including dessert. Wish I had a friend over to share it with!

I used my "Olive and The Caper" Greek cookbook to make this luscious eggplant stewed with red wine and basil. It originally called for shallots but I used onions instead. This was so flavorful and you know that anything cooked with red wine is going to be good.

I had a tiny cauliflower that I knew would be a perfect accompaniment to my stew. I roasted it in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper for about 20 minutes to get this beautiful golden charred look.

And from my trusty "Tables of Lebanon" cookbook, I made moujadara (lentils and rice with caramelized onions). I needed some protein to round out the meal so this was a good way to get both a grain and a protein.

My bowl.

And dessert was a basic lemon white cake. So soft and tender!

Potato Tacos and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

2011-01-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

My co-worker Cynthia passed down a recipe for potato tacos that her mom makes. I was very eager to try it. It's very simple. You just boil some potatoes until tender, mash them and add finely chopped onions. Season with salt. This is your filling. I wanted my onion cooked so I sauteed them before I added them to the mashed potato mixture. Fill corn tortillas with the potato mixture and pan fry in oil on both sides until crispy and browned.

She also gave me instructions for simple roasted tomatillo salsa. Take about 8 tomatillos, husked and cleaned. Cut them in half, along with 1/2 an onion, a couple of serrano or jalapeno peppers and a few cloves of garlic. Roast everything on a grill pan over medium high heat that has been lined with foil. Char on both sides and then cover/wrap everything with the foil while they cook over heat. Once the tomatillos are charred and soft, place everything in a blender and pulse to desired consistency. Thin with water if needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Mid bite. I also put some tomato salsa and guacamole in them. YUMMY.

Easy weeknight meal.

2011-01-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

I was craving baba ghanooj today so on the way home from work, I picked up a few eggplants and made it in about 20 minutes. I used the recipe from Tables of Lebanon which was a little lemony for my taste but still very good. It's probably my fault as I used 4 smallish eggplants (instead of 3 large) and didn't reduce the lemon which I should have figured to do. I also made a salad and grilled a couple of portobellos with garlic and olive oil.

The baba sure is pretty isn't it? I blended the heck out of it so that's why it is so smooth.

At the last minute I added chickpeas to my salad. Gotta have some protein.

Soeur Leila's Red Lentil Stew

2011-01-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

This may not look like much but believe me when I say that is the most flavorful combination of comfort food ingredients: red lentils, noodles and crispy pita croutons. I've made this once before about a month ago and I was so impressed with it. Today was the perfect day for it as we just got a bit of rain outside. I got the recipe from a food memoir called "Memories of a Lost Egypt". You can find the recipe posted online here. Substitute water for the chicken broth and use a couple of quartered fresh tomatoes instead of canned. And do make the pita croutons. They are the perfect crispy accompaniment to the thick, luscious velvety stew. A squeeze of lemon prior to serving is nice as well.

Red Lentil Stew adapted from "Memories of a Lost Egypt"

2 cups red Lentils
4 cups water plus 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, quartered
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 large carrot, cut into 1" pieces
2 small zucchini, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon cumin
1/3 pound vermicelli or angel hair, broken. I used fine cut vermicelli like this.
Salt And Pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Croutons:
Olive oil
Pita bread cut into pieces

Method:
Combine lentils, water, 2 TB olive oil, onion, tomatoes, carrot, and zucchini in a soup pot. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are very soft. Puree entire mixture in a blender or food processor. Return to pot and add cumin, pasta, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. In another pan, saute chopped onion in 2 TB. olive oil until well browned. Add to stew along with the parsley and simmer for 5 minutes.
To make the croutons, heat some olive oil in a pan and fry pita bread pieces until browned. Drain on paper towel.

New Year's Day Lunch.

2011-01-01T12:53:00.001-08:00

Spent all morning preparing this fantastic greek spinach pie. I was so eager to eat that I forgot to photograph the whole pie. This recipe is from "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen". I added cremini mushrooms and red bell pepper to the spinach filling which was a nice change.

We ate this with dijon potato salad, chickpeas with yogurt sauce and a Bulgarian relish called Lutenica. Delicious food!

New Year's Eve Nosh.

2010-12-31T17:34:00.001-08:00

I am spending NYE in with some good food, records on the turntable, wine and champagne later when the clock strikes midnight. Happy New Year to all of you and I hope 2011 is a healthy and happy year. I didn't want to be fussy tonight and decided to keep it simple with a few nibbles. I flipped through my "Tables of Lebanon" cookbook and picked out 'Chickpeas in Olive Oil', Yogurt Sauce with mint and 'Potatoes with Cilantro' served with roasted broccoli and pita.

Potates with Cilantro or Batata Bi-Kizbara in arabic. This was a very easy recipe where you saute potato cubes in olive oil and toss with sauteed garlic and cilantro. It smells heavenly and tastes even more so.

Simple roasted broccoli that is so much more delicious than you think. Cauliflower would have been even better.

My plate. The chickpeas were simply dressed with olive oil, garlic, lemon and dried mint. For the sauce, I used Wildwood plain unsweetened soy yogurt that I mixed with a touch of Vegenaise and stirred in garlic, salt and dried mint.

Tofurky Pizza and Buffalo-BBQ Tofu

2010-12-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

Finally tried the new Tofurky frozen pizza line. This one is the meatless pepperoni (with Daiya cheese). It's not bad at all! I would prefer a little less "meat" but for a frozen pizza, it was pretty tasty.

This is what happened when I craved hot wings over the weekend. I breaded tofu sticks with panko, baked them in the oven until they were crispy, then tossed them in a warm buffalo-bbq sauce which was a combination of Earth Balance margarine, Red Rooster hot sauce and BBQ sauce with a little sugar. Yummy!

Xmas 2010.

2010-12-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hey! Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. I spent xmas eve with my parents, brother and husband. I made a nice xmas dinner and afterwards we opened presents, drank mulled wine and played board games. Had a great time!

This was dinner. Up front and going clockwise: dijon glazed carrots, VegNews mac n cheez, boiled green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, Bryanna's vegan brown gravy (I added olive oil to make it not fat-free), and roasted green beans.

Lots of carbs but oh so good!

On xmas day, Marc and I went over to our friends Hope and Gary's house for dinner. I brought over my famous spinach artichoke dip.

Hope and I baked! These are unadorned gingerbread and vanilla cupcakes from 'Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World'. All dessert pics were taken by Hope with her giant digital camera. Those are her adorable teapots behind.

Gingerbread with lemony "cream cheez" frosting. These were amazing!

All festive and christmas-y.

What!???!! Cutest cupcake in the world! This is the tiramisu cupcake. Oh heaven...

These were my favorite. I haven't had tiramisu in over four years. This was absolute vegan perfection.

And more pics of cute cupcakes...

And last but not least, espresso oatmeal chip cookies. The espresso flavor in this is wow! Recipe from 'Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar'.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!

2010-12-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

My lovely aunt from Vegas is in town and tonight we got together and made these yummy cookies. These are from "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar". Great book with so many varieties of vegan cookies!

Vegan Ceviche.

2010-12-16T20:56:00.001-08:00

Not long ago, our friend Eddie made us vegan posole. Well this week we were treated to this absolutely delicious vegan ceviche! I topped it with homemade salsa, Tofutti Sour Supreme and hot sauce. This was so freaking good!!! Thank you Eddie!

VegNews Mac.

2010-12-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

My second time making this delectable dish. It's one of the best vegan macs out there. Try it, you'll see.

Soup and Dumplings + East Coast Coffee Cake

2010-12-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

This is the fricot soup that I make often with the most perfect dumplings. I love this soup so much. It's perfect with or without tofu.

This is the East Coast Coffee Cake from Vegan Brunch cookbook. I made it with the jam swirl in which I used organic Trader Joe's "Superfruits" jam.

I love that crumb topping!

Self Saucing One Pot Pasta

2010-12-09T18:19:00.001-08:00

Hey people, it's almost the weekend. Can't wait to have time to make fancier food than this. This is a perfect weeknight meal because it requires one pot and a few ingredients. You can find the basis for the recipe here. I made the pasta puttanesca version and did a few things different. I left out the anchovy of course and added mushrooms and one can 8oz. tomato sauce. This came out so good and was so easy to do. I can see this working with many different pasta shapes and whatever vegetables you have on hand. I highly recommend this for quick weeknight meals.

Veggie Quiche!

2010-12-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

Made a veggie quiche with tofu, broccoli, spinach and mushrooms. It's yummy right out of the fridge or warmed up.

I served it with a sauce made of Vegenaise with a touch of ketchup plus a baby lettuce salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

Cake Balls! and Red Lentil Stew

2010-12-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

What?!?! Yes sir, I made cake balls! I've seen these things before at the post punk kitchen forum and I knew that they were going to be made one day. When I made Marc's birthday cake a few weekends ago, I had messed up the first cake. It came out overdone on the outside and fell apart when I plopped it out of the cake tin. It was still perfectly good though so I kept the pieces in the freezer for cake balls later.

I felt like a candy maker rolling smooshy cake mixture into little balls and then dipping them in chocolate. I added colorful sprinkles to entice you even more.

These little guys are dense and very rich. I had one so far and I was totally satisfied! I will be sharing them with my co-workers tomorrow. If you want to make these, follow this recipe as a guideline. It says to use a whole can of cake frosting but that was a little scary for me. I used almost half a can which worked just fine.

This was my lunch today. I've been wanting middle eastern food and was flipping through a food memoir I read a while back called "Memories of a Lost Egypt" by Colette Rossant. There is a recipe for Soeur Leila's Red Lentil Stew which sounded real good. Pureed red lentils and vegetables simmered with vermicelli noodles and sauteed onions. I added spinach for some color. I served it with olive oil-fried pieces of pita bread. The stew was thick and velvety and was so good with the fried bread and a squeeze of lemon. This one's a keeper! Recipe here. (Replace the chicken broth for veggie broth or water. Also instead of a can of tomatoes, just use 1 tomato, quartered.)

Vegan Posole.

2010-12-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

Lucky me! I got to enjoy this delicious, hearty bowl of veggie posole which was made for us by Eddie, a friend of my husband. This beautiful soup made with hominy and meaty soy chunks was topped with fresh shredded cabbage, chopped onions, jalapenos, fresh homemade salsa and lime juice. We enjoyed this very much. Thanks Eddie!

VeganMoFo: Veggie Lasagna and German Chocolate Cake

2010-11-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

I don't make lasagnas often. I usually save them for either a special occasion, holiday or when I'm really craving one. I was really craving one today so I made this lovely thing this morning. It's got cashew ricotta, broccoli, spinach and mushrooms. I also sprinkled almond/miso/nutritional yeast mixture on top. It was perfect.

I had two pieces already!

Today is husband's birthday and he requested german chocolate cake. I've used this recipe before. Comes out moist and delicious every time. I can eat the coconut/pecan topping on it's own it's so good.

Recipe here.