Saturday, June 26, 2010

adzuki chili w/ cheese sauce!!


This was a cozy weekend dinner :) A couple weeks ago I bought some bulk adzuki beans, I've never cooked with them before. So I made a big batch not really knowing what I was gonna do with it. So early in the week, I made some adzuki bean hummus w/ marinated artichoke hearts in the mix, using my standard hummus procedure. The hummus came out quite delicious, but had a weird brown-grey color from using dark beans. I wanted to make something with adzuki beans that had a bit more visual appeal. I made this chili with carrots, fire-roasted canned tomatoes, roasted red peppers, some frozen corn and a bunch of spices. I let the chili simmer for about an hour, the flavor was wonderful and zippy. Our carni dinner guest said it was the best chili he'd ever eaten :) (thanks ritch!). I made a cheese sauce using this handy recipe to top the chili. We ate it topped with a lil kalamata/cilantro topping and frito chips :)

Monday, June 21, 2010

dal, beets&spinach and easy vegan naan bread

I really enjoy Indian food, however I have no idea at all how to make it authentically. I enjoy playing around with lentils, spices, veggies and coconut milk to make 'curries.' Tonight I made a Dal with red lentils.

ingredients:
1 Tb peanut oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 inch grated fresh ginger
1 clove grated garlic
1 Tb garam masala
salt to taste
1 c. red lentils
2 c. water

1) heat up oil, add onion and mustard seeds, sauteed for a couple minutes, until the onion is slightly softened
2) add red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic, garam masala and salt, cook for a few minutes until nice and fragrant
3) add lentils and water, cover and stir, cook on a low simmer until lentils are completedly softened (20-25 min). dal with look like a thick paste.
4) served with a dollop of vegan butter on top

I am a sucker for flatbreads, I call this "Naan bread" however, I believe it is closer to what is called "Roti" traditionally... it's delicious whatever its called! I like to make a big batch of this dough, after the first rise, I break it up into little balls and put in the freezer. Whenever we're having Indian food for dinner, I'll take a couple of dough balls out of the freezer, and leave in the fridge while we're at work. When it's time for dinner, just roll out the thawed dough and cook.

ingredients:
1 1/3 c. very warm water
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. white whole wheat flour
2 Tb olive oil
2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic -crushed

1) combine sugar, yeast and water in a small bowl, mix until yeast is dissolved. let mixture sit for 10 minutes until foamy
2) put flour in a big bowl. make a well in center, add oil, salt, garlic and the yeast mixture. mix thoroughly with hands to form a dough ball.
3) place dough a well floured surface, knead for five minutes. add a bit more flour as needed.
4) place kneaded dough in a slightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
5) knead dough a little, let sit for 5 minutes. break dough up into 2 inch balls (16-18 dough balls). flatten and roll out with rolling pin into little circles.
6) cook in cast iron skillet for 4 minutes on each side (med heat), the bread is done when browned and slightly crispy

I had some beets in the refrigerator, so I decided to make a beet side for the dal and bread. I roasted the beets in the toaster oven until cooked (wrapped in aluminum foil, bake for 35-45 min at 375 degrees). I combined this with a box of frozen spinach, to get some greens into dinner.

ingredients:
5 roasted beets, cut into bite sized pieces
3/4 c. coconut milk
dash salt
curry powder to taste (2 Tb)
1 box frozen chopped spinach
3 Tb nutritional yeast

-combine ingredients in small sauce pan until well combined, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes over low-medium heat.

maple walnut 'cream cheese'

This cream cheese was my contribution to Father's Day brunch :) This is my version of a recipe I've seen many variations of. The cheese base is raw cashews and tofu. Tasted really good on toast and bagels

ingredients:
1 package firm tofu -water squeezed out
1/2 raw cashews
1 Tb extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/8-1/4 cup maple syrup
good dash cinnamon
fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 c. raisins
1/3 c. walnuts

-Using food processor, process tofu, cashews and olive oil until really smooth (this takes several minutes). The consistency should be really creamy and fluffy almost.
-Add in salt and spices, add maple syrup to taste/sweetness level
-Add in the raisins and walnuts, pulse several times until chunks are small, but still there.

I've made a similar cream cheese with added garlic, onion, herbs and veggies. yum yum!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

breakfast muffin sandwiches!!!!

I made some sausages with the Vegan with a Vengeance. Tempeh-Bean sausages, yum yum yum. Right when they were done cooking, I added a drizzle of maple syrup. We ate them on 12 grain english muffins with some avocado! Good breakfast!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

chili with millet and avocado

I had a bunch of cooked pinto beans in the fridge that needed to be cooked, so I decided to make a chili. I don't really believe in using recipes for chili, I just use the ingredients I have around. I used a can of fire-roasted tomatoes w/ chipotle, the cooked pinto beans (2.5 cups), some onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, oregano, paprika and a lil frozen corn.

The millet was toasted, then cooked with water, a lil tomato paste, salt, splash of hot sauce, then simmered for 25 minutes.

This tasted fabulous topped with some chopped avocado :)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

asparagus risotto and pesto beans


I made some risotto and added in some asparagus that I had already steamed. The beans are navy beans with some homemade pesto. yum yum :)