Gravy Train

On my way home yesterday I picked up some mushrooms that were on manager’s special (along with 5 pounds of apples.. hey they were 89 cents a pound). Tonight I made dinner. After work – a feat in itself. I am usually way too hungry when I get home to actually cook and end up living on leftovers from my weekend cooking.

My new obsession, Appetite for Reduction, boasted a falafel recipe that was pretty simple to whip up. Unfortunately I forgot to add salt so they were only so-so. Next time I will remember the salt and they will be fantastic!

The real star of the meal was the mushroom gravy. Kyle’s parents bought me The Miso Book for Christmas and I finally got to make a recipe from it tonight.

Who knew gravy could be so delicious? Perfect served over some hot brown rice and falafel!

Kyle almost licked his bowl clean.

Happy Tuesday – and check out AFR and TMB! You won’t regret it!

Happy (week after your) Birthday, Dad!

I promised you pictures of Dad’s birthday dinner and I’m delivering!

Dad loved the enchiladas! I made my homemade enchilada sauce again to accompany the best vegan enchilada recipe I’ve known to date! I always use red sauce instead of the green sauce and sometimes switch up the type of veggies I add to the lentils, but that base recipe is fantastic!

Just ask my mom!

I also tried a new cheeze recipe to go on top of my masterpiece. The recipe was just recently posted on Post Punk Kitchen and can be found here. I had no carrots so I swapped in some frozen corn and a pinch of mustard powder.. let me just tell you that I can eat that stuff with a spoon and nothing else.

Top all that yumminess with avocado slices and some cilantro..

and chow down!

Eggplant Parm.. My Way

This may look a hot mess.

And boy oh boy it is.

A delicious hot mess.

I got this idea last Saturday while watching Giada make a veggie parm. I rushed right out, bought an organic eggplant and got to work! I sliced and salted the eggplant to drain the bitterness. Let me tell you that it makes all the difference in the world with tenderness. The salting created that beautiful eggplant texture I used to get at Maggiano’s..

There’s not really much of a recipe, just a basic idea. If you don’t like eggplant, swap it for some other yummy squash or even some sliced potatoes! Perhaps I’ll try that next..

What I used:
*1 large organic eggplant; sliced, salted, drained and roasted according to Veganomicon’s instruction
*2 cups kale leaves, chopped and sauteed in canola oil with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper
*3-3 1/2 cups homemade marinara (mine had lots of mushrooms, garlic, sauteed onions and crushed red pepper in it)
*1 recipe cheese “sauce” from Lulu’s Mac and Cheese (found here)
*Daiya cheese (Mozz flavor)

I oiled my big glass baking dish and spread some sauce on the bottom. Then I layered in 3 slices of eggplant (they were HUGE) followed by some kale, half of the cheese “sauce”, a sprinkling of Daiya and some sauce. I repeated that process once more and finished off the last layer of sauce with an additional sprinkling of Daiya. I baked the whole thing in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Kyle and I had to restrain ourselves from eating the whole pan in one sitting. I finally know how to cure my eggplant parm craving and still treat my body right.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Spend time with those you love and I’ll see you back here soon!

Get Your Beta-Carotene Here!

Holy Moley Roley Poley! I’ve discovered a soup that I love better than tomato basil. Better than chicken noodle. A bold claim, I know.

I had been seeing carrot soup crop up everywhere. In one day, I noticed a recipe in my google reader, a recipe on Joy’s website AND a recipe on Guy’s Big Bite. I took it as a sign.

My what a delicious sign it was.

Taking a little something from each recipe I saw, I used the recipe instructions from Joy the Baker. I made the soup the night before I planned on serving it to the suspecting Kyle. This way the soup had a chance to cool so I could blend it in batches in my shnazzy Bullet Blender. I also think that letting the soup sit overnight allowed the flavors to meld together even better.

This soup is great cold or piping hot. The perfect summer soup. Since Mother Nature has insisted on switching from Winter to Summer while skipping my friend Spring.

Is there anything better than bright orange soup?

I didn’t think so.

Carrot Ginger Soup (adapted from Joy the Baker)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 vidalia onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 large red potato, peeled and chopped
4 cups sliced carrots
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper
fresh cilantro and paprika for garnish

Heat oil in a large pan over medium. Add in onions and cook about 15 minutes or until they start to caramelize a bit. Add ginger, garlic and spices and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add in potato and carrots and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Turn up the heat to medium high and add the broth and water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the carrots and potato are softened to your liking. Remove from the flame and allow to cool.

When the soup is cooled, puree in a blender and refrigerate overnight. The next day pour the soup into a large pot and heat over low heat, stirring constantly. Garnish with fresh cilantro and paprika.

Nom nom nom!

Here a Bake, there a Bake..

For the past two weeks I have been obsessed with bakes. It all started over the Edible Perspective with her baked buckwheat post.

If you haven’t stopped by her site yet, I suggest you do. Her bakes have been popping up all over the blogging world, as well as the rest of her fabulous recipes. My breakfasts just haven’t been the same since I started reading oh-so-long ago.

There’s been a few flops before I really got it right here. Then I purchased an Italian made soup crock and started experimenting outside of buckwheat (mostly for fear of running out..).

I’ve had 3 major successes. All have been inspired by Ashley’s original recipe.

The first is a blueberry kamut bake.

Stuffed full of wild blueberries and topped with vanilla bean coconut butter!

Blueberry Kamut Bake
1/4 cup raw kamut, ground finely
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 tablespoon raw buckwheat groats
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 banana, mashed
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax meal + 2 1/2 tablespoons water)
1/4 cup wild blueberries (for filling)

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease your soup crock (or whichever baking vessel you choose to use). Mix up your flax egg and let that sit to the side while you’re working. Mix together your dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the banana, pumpkin, milk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add in the egg and mix again.

Spoon half of your mixture into the baking vessel and flatten with a spoon. Arrange the blueberries on top of the batter so there’s a slight border around them. Spoon the rest of your batter on top of the blueberries and flatten. Bake for 30 minutes and top with whatever your heart desires. As is the case with most bakes.

Next up is a Mexican Cocoa Bake.

I used the leftover “filling” from my Blueberry Lime Cheesecake from the other day as a filling for my bake. Can you say YUM?!

Mexican Cocoa Bake
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 tablespoon raw buckwheat groats
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 flax egg
1/2 banana, mashed
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons non dairy milk
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Following the same procedure as above, whip those ingredients up and stuff the bake with whatever you choose. Be it leftover “cheesecake”, coconut, berries or even just leaving it unstuffed; all options would be wonderful!

The last (but certainly not the least) bake I have for you today is of the savory variety. I enjoyed the bakes so much I started to wonder why I couldn’t make them for dinner, too! So experiment I did!

In my opinion it turned out extremely well. So well that I think I’ll make a larger version for Kyle and I to share sometime. Comfort food: Indian style!

Stuffed Indian Chickpea Bake
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 tablespoon lentils
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch ground cloves
1 flax egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons non dairy milk
2 cloves garlic, crushed

For the filling:
1 pitted date, diced
1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach
3 mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch cumin

Saute the date, spinach, mushrooms and spices in a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Cook about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms start to brown a bit. Remove from heat, mix up your flax egg and get to mixing up that batter! Layer the ‘shroom mixture into the bake and stick that sucker in the oven!

This guy needs a little more oven time, so bake him for about 35-40 minutes.

I topped this bake with a little savory almond butter and a cranberry/chipotle/strawberry jam I threw together a few mornings ago.

I hope maybe there’s a bake that strikes your fancy in that list! I know I can’t stop with the bakes.

Once you start, you won’t be able to stop either..

I hope to be back tomorrow night for some exciting news!!

V-8′s Replacement

For years I have wanted my mom to teach me to make enchilada sauce. Unfortunately on the days we’ve planned to make enchiladas, I always seem to get there after the sauce is made! Darn cross-communications!

I took matters into my own hands last week.

I dug out the recipe my mom gave me, swung by the hispanic grocer down the street for the dried chilies I needed and got to work in the kitchen!

Following the recipe and verbal instructions I had committed to memory, I turned out my first batch of enchilada sauce. It was not nearly as difficult as I had always thought. Time consuming, but TOTALLY worth it.

I called my mom to brag about my new skill, practically hopping up and down with excitement!

Is it wrong to want to drink it? Because I do.

You’ll never go canned again.

Enchilada Sauce
7 dried guajillo chilies
1 dried ancho chili
Water
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon chickpea flour
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Wash chilies thoroughly. Place in a large saucepan and cover generously with water (I used about 5 or so cups). Cover and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand 45 minutes or until softened.

Drain chilies, reserving soaking liquid. Pull off stems, slit chilies open and rinse off seeds. Place chilies and 1-2 cups soaking liquid into a blender and puree. Turn into a sieve and rub through sieve into a bowl to eliminate bits of peel. Rinse blender with an additional 1 cup of soaking liquid and pour over remaining pulp in sieve.

Heat oil and garlic in a medium saucepan over low heat. When the oil is fragrant with garlic, remove the garlic clove. Stir in the flour until the mixture is smooth. Cook about 1 minute. Add pureed chile mixture and remaining ingredients, including the reserved garlic clove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until slightly thickened. Before storing, remove garlic clove (I ate mine..)

I used the sauce to make enchiladas filled with black bean, baby portabellas, onion and cumin topped with savory almond butter.

My tortillas disintegrated a bit from moisture so I’m still working on getting that right. Hopefully there will be an enchilada post once I figure that out. Meanwhile, I sure don’t think Kyle’s minding eating the “mistakes”.

I don’t mind either.

Ode to Okra

First off I want to thank Angela for featuring my meat(less)balls in her Recipe Link Love for today! I love that she features vegan recipes from tons of bloggers.. but it makes my recipe pile start to teeter a bit!

My mom still raves about my “really yummy meatballs” whenever she talks about my switch to vegan eating. I think she likes them more than I did!

I’m so glad to have such a proud mama! =)

She would probably like what I whipped up for dinner last night, too. I know I was pretty pleased!

I give you: Spicy Okra Mole!

If you’ve never tried okra, I suggest you give it a whirl. The flavor and the crunch even after it cooks makes the fact that it looks a little sticky while cooking bearable. =)

I’ve been wanting to make the tofu mole out of the Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health cookbook for a while now. I checked the book back out of the library just so I could get the recipe. My only reservation was that I didn’t want to eat tofu. I ate a lot of it over the weekend. I decided that the best substitute for the day was the okra I had hanging out in the freezer!

I’m so glad I made the substitution! Yum!

Here’s my adaption of the recipe from the Moosewood cookbook!

Spicy Okra Mole (adapted from Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 chipotle peppers from a can, diced
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 cups sliced okra (I used frozen)
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 can water (using the can from the tomatoes)

In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Toss in onions and cook until they start to turn clear. Add in garlic, salt, thyme, cinnamon and cumin. Cook another 2 minutes, then add in okra and chipotle peppers. After about 5 minutes, the okra starts to turn tender. At this point, add in the tomatoes, cocoa powder and water. Bring the mixture to a slow boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I served my mole sauce over some brown rice and topped it with 1/4 of an avocado, sliced and the juice of half a lime. Nomnomnom. Lunch was fantastic, I tell you!

*****

In other news:

I’m finally getting around to posting the awesomely wonderous “Pudgy Cake” my supervisor, Tami, made for a co-worker’s birthday a few weeks ago. She used the recipe she found over at Cookies and Cups to create this 3 layered humongo cake! She switched it up and used a whipped cream frosting instead of a canned frosting.

Unfortunately the cake was not vegan, but Tami was nice enough to bring me in a small package of Oreos so I could have a sugar rush, too!

My co-workers are so sweet. No pun intended. =)

This bad boy was GONE by the end of the day. We were floored. Sweets + office = demolished!

Rad Rice

Amazing ideas sometimes come to me at random times. Ideas fused together from different blog posts. Ideas that come from phantom flavors I can taste on my tongue.

I don’t have much in my pantry right now aside from pumpkin and spices. Among some of the things I do have: arborio rice.

Oh yeah.

I made risotto. Red wine risotto.

Delish. Addicting. Creamy.

Make it, please!!

Red Wine Risotto
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
5 sun dried tomatoes, diced
1/4 package tempeh, diced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup red wine (use a wine you enjoy drinking)
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup raw walnuts

In a small pot, heat vegetable broth to simmering. Keep broth simmering on low.

In a large, dry pot over medium heat, saute onions and tomatoes until they start to turn clear. Stir occasionally to keep from burning, reducing heat if necessary. Add in garlic, tempeh, pepper and sage, cooking for about 5 minutes. Stir in rice and cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze the pot with the wine, stirring vigorously, and cook until absorbed. Stir in broth 1/3 cup at a time, allowing each addition to absorb before adding the next. Once all the broth is added, turn off the heat and stir in peas and walnuts.

Chow down!

Neat-o Cool!

I want to start off this post by saying that tonight I had the best “neat”loaf I’ve ever had. Technically it’s also the first I’ve ever had, but it will not be the last! The best meatloaf prize still goes to Kyle’s mom. =)

Soup has me sold!

When it’s this cold out (yes it is snowing.. again..) all I can think about is soup. And chili. Oh man.. why didn’t I make chili?? Later this week perhaps.

I’ve been eating a lot of pasta lately, so I wanted to eat something that was a little less heavy tonight. I am in LOVE with red peppers so I chopped some of those up and just randomly threw some other veggies in the crock-pot this afternoon before heading to work. Half days are great for crock-pot soup since I know I’ll be home and ready to eat in 4 1/2 hours instead of 9.

I don’t like much salt in my food, so I added it in the form of the yummy toppings I threw on after the fact. This time I used some of the leftover ricotta tofu and kale pesto from last night. You could top this with whatever you like, avocado is always a great option!

Red Pepper and Rice Soup
1/4 cup beans, soaked overnight (I used flageolet beans)
1/4 cup brown or black rice, rinsed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons corn kernels
2 cups water (you could also use veggie stock here)
1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder

Throw all ingredients in your tiny (and in my case, borrowed) crock-pot, give it a quick stir, cover and set the heat to low. Cook for 4 1/2-5 hours or until beans are done to your liking. Add desired toppings!

Peanut Butter and Ginger

Category Archives: garlic