Three Omnivores and An Occasional Vegan

Stir-Fried Sichuan String Beans

missceliespants — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:07:20 -0400

Posted by: Cidell

I love spicy Asian foods. When we do go out for lunch, I find myself choosing the sichuan string beans from our local spot. I decided it was high time to try it at home. Cooks Illustrated to the rescue again!

I made this for my friend’s Passover seder on Friday night and originally for lunch co-op months ago. By quadrupling the original recipe to four pounds of string beans and stir frying on my outdoor grill’s wok, I was able to make enough for 16 in one go. It received rave reviews from everyone with some being syphoned off for leftovers. Cook’s also has a variation with broccoli that sounds just as good.

The original calls for ground pork and suggests shitake mushrooms to make it veggie. Since this was going to be my main course, I added large chunk TVP (so hard to find locally I finally bought a box from Amazon). Oh, and I got the fresh French green beans from Sam’s Club for all of $4. By far the least expensive meal I’ve put together!

Sichuan String Beans

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1teaspoon sugar
1/2teaspoon cornstarch
1/4teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound green beans , ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 ounces shitake mushrooms or two cups of moist TVP
3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
3 scallions , white and light green parts sliced thin
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

INSTRUCTIONS

In small bowl, stir together soy sauce, sherry, sugar, cornstarch, white pepper, pepper flakes, mustard, and water until sugar dissolves; set aside.
Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet (I used a 22 inch wok) over high heat until just smoking. Add beans and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender and skins are shriveled and blackened in spots, 5 to 8 minutes (reduce heat to medium-high if beans darken too quickly). Transfer beans to large plate.
Reduce heat to medium-high and add pork to now-empty skillet. Cook, breaking pork into small pieces, until no pink remains, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir sauce to recombine and return beans to pan with sauce. Toss and cook until sauce is thickened, 5 to 10 seconds. Remove pan from heat and stir in scallions and sesame oil. Serve immediately.
Per Serving:

Cal 200; Fat 14 g; Sat fat 3 g; Chol 20 mg; Carb 12 g; Protein 8 g; Fiber 4 g; Sodium 680 mg

Broccoli-Seitan Stir Fry

catalina-de-cuenca — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:23:00 -0400

Posted by: Catalina-de-Cuenca
Continuing with my obsession with Seitan :D This week I decided to twist a Tofu recipe around by replacing it with Seitan AND adding other goodies.
The original recipe “Broccoli-Tofu Stir Fry” comes from the book “Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home”. I really like this book even though it is not a vegan book. As said before I switched the recipe around to add other flavors and accommodate what I had and did not have at home

Ingredients:
Sauce
• 2/3 cup of water
• 3 tablespoon of rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar

• 3-4 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 14 oz of seitan
• 1 large head of broccoli cut into 1 inch florets
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1 white onion
• 1 cup of peas
Instructions:
Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Before beginning to stir fry prepare the vegetables and have all the ingredients at hand.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and half of sliced white onion for 1 minute before adding the seitan. Continue to stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes until seitan is lightly brown. Remove the seitan and set it aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, heat for a few seconds and add the broccoli. Stir for a minutes and pour the water. Stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the rest of the sliced onion and peas continue to stir fry for another minute and then add the seitan and the sauce. Stir carefully and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3 or 4 minutes until the sauce thickens. Serve with brown rice.

Crispy Sweet and Sour Seitan

catalina-de-cuenca — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:37:26 -0400

Posted by: Catalina-de-Cuenca
About three weeks ago I decided to cook with Seitan and I was hooked! I loved its texture and how tasty my dish turned out.
Similar to many of my recipes, I decided to look at a series of sweet and sour seitan recipes and came up with my own. This dish can be a little too sweet, so I suggest tasting it as you cook.
Ingredients
• 14 oz of Seitan cut into small pieces
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
Sauce
• ¼ cup of cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 cup of rice vinegar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• ¼ of ginger powder
• ¼ cup of water
Instructions :
Combine flour, salt, and ¼ cup of water. Add seitan and stir until coated. Fry coated seitan in 2 inches of hot oil for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain Seitan, keep it hot. Combine brown sugar, vinegar, black pepper, ginger, soy sauce and 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Combine cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water. Cook until thickened, stirring consistently. Add seitan and let simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with brown rice.
PS: please excuse the messy dish :(

Veggie Burger with Mushrooms and BBQ

catalina-de-cuenca — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 17:52:00 -0500

By: Catalina-de-Cuenca

I’ve been craving a hamburger for the last two months. I usually eat one every two or three months to alleviate the cravings; however, I typically feel awfully guilty and extremely bloated after eating them (I guess the large side of French fries along with the burger will do it too —- but I am not ready to give up French fries yet!). So, I decided to make a burger on the healthy side

I looked up a series of recipes with chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans (you name it). The most appealing recipe came from the Food Network (Vegetarian section). I really liked the fact that the veggie burger mix included onions, scallions, and walnuts!!

I decided to tweak the recipe by adding minced garlic to the burger mix and by substituting mayonnaise with BBQ sauce

The end product was a juicy garlicky veggie burger with sautéed mushrooms and onions and BBQ sauce. It was great!

Soy Chorizo and Chick Peas

dearestlizzie — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:03:05 -0500

Posted By: DearestLizzie

When I was out last week running some errands with Cidell we stopped by Trader Joes which is great for some Vegan finds and staples. We both bought a couple of packs of Soy Chorizo, Catalina-de-Quenca used it once and it is very hard to tell its not actually sausage AND its only $1.99 per pack!!!

I had no idea what to make with this so I searched for Chorizo recipes and found this little gem - Chorizo and Chick Peas. My very slightly altered version appears below, I just used soy chorizo obviously, a little less broth, and I didn’t have allspice.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ lb soy chorizo, crumbled

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

½ tsp allspice (I didn’t have any)

¼ tsp chili powder

5 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 c. water or veggie stock

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained

1 c. Israeli couscous

¼ c. freshly chopped parsley

Directions:

Heat oil in large skillet, over medium heat. Add chorizo and brown, approx. 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent and aromatic. Add cumin, coriander, allspice and chili powder; stir to combine. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Cook couscous. Bring 1 ¼ c. salted water to a boil. Add couscous to boiling water and cover. Simmer 8-10 minutes or until tender. Remove and set aside.

Add tomatoes, chickpeas,and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chorizo mixture and couscous to skillet and season to taste with salt. Simmer 5-10 more minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

I am going to go to the Au Bon Pain by work and get some french bread as the original recipe suggests but upon tasting I really liked the flavors, it seems like it is going to be hearty and filling.

Tofu Sloppy Joe

dearestlizzie — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:04:05 -0500

Posted by: DearestLizzie

Lately I’ve been trying to use what I have in the house. I had a block of extra firm tofu burning a hole in my fridge so I searched Tofu Recipes… I found this Sloppy Joe recipe and I was kind of excited about it, also I was happy to find a new website to try recipes from. Not to mention the fact all that I had to buy at the store was a red pepper and a jalapeno!

I made a few changed from the original recipe. I make meat sloppy joe fairly often and I like a little extra mustard and lots of Ketchup :) I also don’t like green pepper so much so I used red. The original called for a cup of water towards the end, I omitted that entirely and still had to actually strain the dish. I mashed the tofu with a large serving fork in the beginning and that worked really well.

Ingredients:

1 lb firm tofu

2 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp minced red or green pepper

1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic

2 Tbsp minced onion

1 Tbsp minced jalapeño pepper

Pinch chipotle pepper

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp minced cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mash tofu and mince the veggies

Heat oil on medium in a large frying pan, fry onion & garlic 5 min

Add tofu, jalapeno & green pepper, fry 5 minutes, on high

Add dry spices and fry for 2 minutes

Add ketchup, soy sauce, br sugar, parsley and simmer 10 minutes

Tofu moisture content varies, so add more catsup and water as needed if the mixture seems too dry

Serve over buns with fixins - tomato, lettuce, avocado slices & mayo are good choices

Overall I liked it, it was very summer picnic to me which is refreshing. Catalina-de-Quenca really liked it too! I may put this one back in rotation over the summer and actually add “fixins” the next time around.

Massaged Kale Salad With Pomegranate Seeds

missceliespants — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:20:00 -0500

Posted by Cidell

This salad is an easy way to add more greens (color) to your diet. A friend told me about the ANDI index and Whole Foods adoption of it. Essentially, using nutrients, calories, fiber, etc a numerical index between 0 and 1000 is assigned to food. Kale, is at the top with 1,000. French Fries, my personal favorite is a sad sad 7. Catalina appropriately pointed out that kale is likely high because it has almost no calories, lots of vitamins and nutrients and tons of fiber. It’s high impact for little cost on the waistline. I realize it’s the epitome of ‘rabbit food’. But, it’s delicious and nutritious.

The same friend who told me about the ANDI index (Aggregate Nutrient Index) also told me about a kale salad he’d had recently that was delicious. So…. kale salad was born. I found this one on Food Network and made it for my bookclub. I loved it and feasted on it for a week. Really easy way to add more greens to my lunch and bulk up my vegetable intake with a little kale salad on the side two meals a day.

I subbed out sliced almonds for the pepitas and and pomegranate seeds for the mango. It adds a great burst of fruit flavor and is another ‘super food’.

Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients

1 bunch kale (black kale is especially good), stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
~~1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup)~~
1 cup of diced fruit
Small handful toasted nuts or seeds ~~pepitas (pumpkin seeds),~~ about 2 rounded tablespoons
Dusting of cayenne, red pepper flakes or chili powder

Directions

In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.

Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.

Thai-Style Chik'N Soup (tom kha gai)

missceliespants — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:29:00 -0500

Posted by Cidell:

I am again dipping in to the Cooks Illustrated well with this Thai-Style soup. I’ve made the original version for friends with real chicken and for lunch club, this vegan version. I’ve served this to half-a-dozen different people and everyone RAVES over how good it is.

To make this vegan, I switched out the chicken for MorningStar Farms Meal Startes Chik’n Strips. And, instead of chicken broth, I used veggie broth with two cubes of chicken flavored bouillon. If you want a meatier texture and skip the faux meat, I highly recommend oyster mushrooms in addition to the button mushrooms.

I sautéed the Chik’n Strips lightly in a non-stick pan with no oil. I didn’t add them directly to the soup. Rather, I put them in the bowl and ladled the soup on top.

This soup is incredibly rich with the addition of two cans of coconut milk. I also like my food spicy, so I added a third teaspoon of red curry paste. I highly recommend the one from Trader Joe’s if you have access. If you’d like to add some of the fishy flavor back when you omit the fish sauce, I suggest adding Kombu or other seaweed to the soup.

Ah, one last change. I added bean sprouts to ours too. Anything to up the nutrient factor!

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 stalks lemon grass, tough outer leaves removed, bottom 5 inches halved lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise
3 large shallots, chopped (I used onions as I didn’t have shallots on hand)
8 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves, chopped coarse
~~3 tablespoons fish sauce~~
4 cups low-sodium ~~chicken~~ vegetable broth
2 (14-ounce) cans coconut milk, well-shaken
1 tablespoon sugar
½ pound white mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise and sliced on bias into ⅛-inch-thick pieces
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice from 2 to 3 limes
2 teaspoons red curry paste (Thai)

Garnish:
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 serrano chiles, sliced thin
2 scallions, sliced thin on bias
1 lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until just shimmering. Add the lemon grass, shallots, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon soy ~~fish~~ sauce; cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are just softened, 2 to 5 minutes (vegetables should not brown). Stir in the ~~chicken~~ veggie broth and 1 can of the coconut milk; bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the flavors have blended, 10 minutes. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids in the strainer. Rinse the saucepan and return the broth mixture to the pan.

2. Return the pan to medium-high heat. Stir the remaining can of coconut milk and sugar into the broth mixture and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms, and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove soup from heat.

3. Combine lime juice, curry paste, and remaining 2 tablespoons soy ~~fish~~ sauce in small bowl; stir into soup. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, chiles, and scallions. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

Tempeh and Mushrooms Fricassee with Brown rice and lentils

catalina-de-cuenca — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:56:00 -0500

Post by: Catalina-de-Cuenca

This recipe is one of my favorites so far, the mushroom fricassee sauce is so tasty and rich. The wine really makes the tempeh and mushrooms stand out. I served this recipe with brown rice and lentils as a side dish. The fricassee sauce and the brown rice truly complemented each other.

The original recipe comes from cookinglight.com as part of a series of tempeh recipes. The original recipe “Tempeh and Wild Mushrooms Fricassee” is a bit more elaborate with many types of mushrooms and fresh herbs. However, I made mine with regular mushrooms and spices to replace the fresh herbs and I had no complaints.

Ingredients

· 8 ounces tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

· 1/4 cup dry white wine

· 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

· 3 cups sliced button mushrooms

· 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

· 1 teaspoon of thyme

· thinly sliced garlic (about 5 cloves)

· 14 ounce vegetable broth

· 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

· 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

· 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add tempeh; sauté 8 minutes or until golden brown. Add wine and soy sauce; cook 15 seconds or until liquid almost evaporates. Remove tempeh from pan.

Add mushrooms to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add thyme. Add garlic, and broth to pan; bring to a boil. Add tempeh, stirring well. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until thick. Stir in lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Serve with brown rice as a side dish

Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Indian Spices

missceliespants — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:19:19 -0500

Posted by Cidell:

This was my second time making this Lentil Soup With Coconut Milk for the girls. But, somehow, my first time blogging it.

The soup is not originally vegan. I’ve had both the vegan and vegetarian version and I think they taste equally good. Once Upon a Tart is a wealth of great recipes for everyone — ominovores, vegetarians and vegans.

Oh, I’d also like to add that I’m loathe to use anything low fat. For real. Coconut milk is chock full of yummy tasting calories. Live a little and don’t get the low fat version.

This soup tasted best the next day.

Green Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Warm Spices

~~3 Tbsp. unsalted butter~~
3 Tbsp olive oil or vegan margarine
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1½ tsp. turmeric
6 c. vegetable or chicken broth
1½ c. French green lentils, picked over for stones and other debris
4 whole cardamom pods
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
3 whole cloves
A pinch of grated nutmeg
A few grinds of black pepper
1¼ c. coconut milk
¼ tsp. fine salt, or more to taste

In a soup pot or Dutch oven, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is translucent. Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic, thyme, and turmeric. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is lightly browned and very soft.

Add the stock, spices and the lentils. Bring to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and tender.

Add the coconut milk and stir well. Cook for about 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Taste, and adjust the salt as necessary.

Barbecued Tempeh and Peppers & Asian Cabbage Slaw

catalina-de-cuenca — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:05:00 -0500

Posted by Catalina-de-Cuenca

Continuing with my quest of the spices and new ingredients, this week I decided to experiment with tempeh. This recipe came from book “Moosewood Restaurant and Cooks at Home”; even though it is not a vegan cookbook, I highly recommend it for its side dishes, salads, soups, and homemade dressings.

This sandwich was a bit spicy for my taste, so I suggest starting with 1 teaspoon of Tabasco or hot pepper sauce

I decided to make an “Asian Cabbage Slaw” in order to offset the spiciness of the sandwich and serve as a side dish.

Ingredients:

· 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

· 2 medium onions, chopped about 2 cups

· 1 large garlic clove

· 1 red bell pepper

· ½ pound soy tempeh (8 oz.)

Sauce:

· 1 tablespoon soy sauce

· 3 tablespoons tomato paste

· 1 tablespoon molasses or brown sugar

· 2/3 water

· 1 tablespoon ground coriander

· 1½ teaspoons of ground fennel

· 1-2 teaspoons of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce (to taste)

· Salt to taste

· 4 pita breads

Preparation:

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy skillet and sauté the chopped onions for 3 to 4 minutes, until they begin to soften. While the onions sauté, mince the garlic and chop the bell pepper; add them to the onions. Continue to cook another 5 minutes stirring often.

Cube the tempeh; add it to the skillet and sauté for about 5 minutes until it begins to brown. While the tempeh browns, mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside

Add the coriander and fennel to the tempeh and vegetables and stir constantly for a minute. Pour on the sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Serve in warmed pita pockets

Asian Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients

· 2 cups finely shredded cabbage

· 1 cup grated carrots

Dressing

· 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

· 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

· 1 tablespoon soy sauce

· 2 teaspoons brown sugar

· ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

· Chopped peanuts (optional)

Preparation

Combine the cabbage and carrots in a serving bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the vegetables ans toss well. Just before serving add the chopped peanuts

Chickpea Tomato Soup With Fresh Rosemary

missceliespants — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:29:16 -0500

Posted by Cidell:

This is my second soup from Once Upon a Tart and my third or fourth recipe from this book. They are also the creators of the awesome Chickpea and Lentil Salad with Sun Dried Tomato. In addition, I’ve made their Lentil Soup with Indian Spices in both vegan and vegetarian versions. But, seem to have neglected to blog them.

Have I mentioned I love soup? I made this soup so I wouldn’t have to scavenge for dinner when I get home. I brought a little in to the office just to tease the girls.

Chickpea Tomato Soup With Fresh Rosemary

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
fresh rosemary, needles removed from stem and finely chopped
1 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 pinch sugar
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable stock

Directions

Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat, and add the garlic and rosemary.
Cook for a minute or two, and then add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, a few grinds of pepper, roughly half of the chickpeas, and the stock. Bring to a boil over high heat; then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat to purée. If using an immersion blender, purée the soup directly in the pot. Otherwise, wait a few minutes, until the soup cools; then purée it in batches in a blender or food processor and return it to the pot.
Add the remaining chickpeas, and warm the soup over medium heat. Serve warm.

Saving Money With Lunch Co-Op

missceliespants — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:02:00 -0500

Posted by: Cidell

Here’s a good reason I stick with lunch club despite not being a vegan. Money. This was my lazy lunch on Thursday. There’s a little place around the corner that everyone gets lunch from. While I applaud them for having tofu for a protein and lots of vegan options, this was $11. And, I was still hungry after.

Marinated and grilled tofu, asparagus, mango and pineapple slices.

For less than $20, I can feed four of us in lunch club and still have food left over. Nothing like a reminder that hits you in the pocket!

Easy Salt & Vinegar Roasted Chick Peas

dearestlizzie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:05:06 -0500

Posted By: DearestLizzie

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Salt & Vinegar potato chips…. like it makes me salivate when the bag pops open and I get a whiff. If you don’t live in a part of the country where UTZ are available I am truly sorry, They are hands down the best potato chips on the planet. With that being said I love the flavors together and when I came across this recipe I was excited. Also…no girl can just eat chip all day everyday :(

I saw this perusing Pinterest- which is how I find many things these days. The recipe can be found here on the blog Oh She Glows and I must say a great find of a blog.

I did take the little shells off my chick peas -slightly tedious but totally easy sitting in front of the TV doing it. These turned out really well and they are slightly addictive for me at least. I had to stop because I wanted to take it in to see what the girls think!

Ingredients:

2 cups canned chickpeas*
3-4 cups white vinegar
1 tsp Coarse sea salt
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions: Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. Take chickpeas and vinegar and place in a medium sized pot. Add a dash of sea salt. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Let sit in pot for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425F. Carefully drain chickpeas. Place on lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. Massage with fingers until fully coated. Roast for 45 minutes, flipping once half way through. Keep a careful eye on them after 35 minutes of cooking to ensure they don’t burn. The goal here is crispy and golden chickpeas, not black…lol. Enjoy as a high protein snack or as a side to a lunch or dinner.

Roasted Vegetable & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

dearestlizzie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:06:05 -0500

Posted By: DearestLizzie

This is another holiday back post. This recipe was inspired by the trip to Sam’s Club to pick up my Christmas tree. Cidell was gracious enough to take me, let me use her membership and stuff the christmas tree into her mini cooper :) At Sam’s was a beautiful bag of 6 colored peppered. So off I went to find a stuffed pepper recipe.

What I found is from Hungy Girl and it turned out to be very good. I topped these with a soy based yogurt mixed with a clove of garlic minced and mixed in. AND in my quest to be filled I can say this worked!

Recipe and pictures follow - I was on my hipstamatic bing for fun…

Ingredients:

2 zucchini, stem ends removed, halved lengthwise

1 red onion, sliced into rounds with rings intact

1/2 eggplant, stem end removed, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (I used Red)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1 tsp. chopped garlic

1/2 package of extra firm tofu - finely cubed

~~1 cup crumbled reduced-fat/light feta cheese~~

6 large red bell peppers (look for peppers that sit flat when stem sides are up)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Place zucchini, onion, and eggplant on sheets in a single layer. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper. Mix well. Using your fingers or a brush, evenly spread half of the mixture on top of the veggies on the sheets. Flip veggies, and spread with the remaining mixture.

Bake in the oven until veggies are tender, 20 - 25 minutes. Set aside to cool, but leave oven on.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to package instructions. (Typically, as follows for 1/2 cup: Combine quinoa with 1 cup water in a small pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until water has evaporated and quinoa is fully cooked.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl. Once baked veggies are cool enough to handle, roughly chop and add to the large bowl. Add basil, garlic, and feta cheese, and stir thoroughly. Set aside.

Carefully slice off the top (stem side) of each bell pepper, about a half-inch slice from each. Remove and discard seeds. Place peppers cut-side up in a deep 9” X 13” baking pan. If peppers do not sit flat, gently lean them against the pan sides for support.

Evenly distribute the quinoa-veggie mixture among the bell peppers, about 1 cup each. Bake until peppers are soft and filling is hot, 20 - 25 minutes.

Makes 6 servings - PER SERVING (1/6th of recipe, 1 stuffed pepper): 180 calories, 5g fat, 405mg sodium, 27g carbs, 7g fiber, 10g sugars, 9g protein — PointsPlus® value 4*

Mediterranean Crusted Tofu with Saffron Quinoa Pilaf

dearestlizzie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:15:00 -0500

Posted by: Catalina-de-Cuenca

This week I decided to get out of my comfort zone and expand my palate with Middle Eastern ingredients and flavors. This recipe came from vegan.com and received the “vegan.com best recipe of the year for 2011”

Cooking Latin American dishes comes easy to me, so this week’s recipe was a challenge since I was working with ingredients I have never cooked before

Ingredients such as tahini and saffron really caught my attention: Tahini because I have never seen it and I literally had to Google a photo to see what it looked like AND saffron because it was sooooo expensive ($12 for a ½ tablespoon). I am surprised stores don’t have it behind the counter :D

I decided to substitute pistachios with walnuts and used cilantro as my preferred herb. I must say this dish has MANY components and when you are cooking them individually they don’t seem as special. It is when you bring them together that the flavors become incredible.

I was extremely surprised at how tasty and crunchy the tofu turned out. I am not a big fan of Tofu and had thought of replacing it with zucchini, but luckily I could not find any. The fact that I liked it so much is making me look at Tofu under a totally different light ….maybe it was NOT the Tofu, maybe it was ME… maybe….

Anyway this dish not only tastes amazing but it’s also beautiful and colorful

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did … yum…yum

Winter Squash, Chickpea, and Lentil Stew

dearestlizzie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:08:05 -0500

Posted By: DearestLizzie

This is a recipe I made a few weeks back, SEE we have been cooking and not blogging! I wanted to make a crock pot recipe that week because I wanted easy as it had been a long weekend :)

The Recipe I used can be found here and it is from Better Homes and Gardens.

It was a little late to find pumpkin in the grocery store and even though I love it, it can be tough to work with. For this recipe I used Butternut Squash. I also used green lentils as red were triple the price at my local store.

It turned out well and it was tasty. It was not very stewish, meaning no water. I probably cooked it a little over 8 as I put it in before I went to bed. Topping it with peanuts gave it a good texture and the vegan yogurt is also a great addition. Also, i’m sure you’ve noticed i’m in my Chickpea phase.

This is def a nice comfort food type winter dish. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Hummus

dearestlizzie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:07:05 -0500

Posted By: DearestLizzie

I’ve been on fire this week…. this is the third thing i’ve cooked, which is a lot for me. I wanted to bring a decent snack to work and to share with the girls. I came across this Sweet Potato Hummus recipe. I love Sweet Potato AND Hummus so I thought WHY NOT!!

I have a very small food processor so I had to do it in batches and finished the whole thing in the blender. The whole process was not terrible though and overall a simple quick recipe (aside from boiling the sweet potatoes).

Note: I know Cidell is hating my pictures lately - they will get better, I promise!

I really like the taste, it is different than traditional hummus though. It tastes lighter and comes out a bit fluffier. I hope to experiment with more hummus soon!

Ingredients

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can (19.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 garlic clove, chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Whole-wheat pita and crudites such as red pepper and broccoli

Directions

Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor.
Combine chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, oil, cumin, and garlic in the food processor. Puree, about 1 minute; thin with water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and let cool; refrigerate, in an airtight container, up to 1 week. Serve with pita and crudites.

Falafel Hash

dearestlizzie — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:07:06 -0500

Posted by: Dearest Lizzie

Cidell and I headed to the beloved Punjab last weekend and I was desperately hoping something would jump out at me to make for lunch. Of course because the Punjab is magical it did! I was also excited because it was going to be SO easy to make. I didn’t have to buy anything extra because Cidell let me have a can of chopped tomatoes!

I found this Falafel Dry Mix for $2.99 so a cheap meal as well!! On the back was their recipe for Vegetarian Chili, I re-named it because this really isn’t like chili at all as a final produce and that is not a bad thing.

Sadly I did not take photos so the fake box photo is below I can say it looks just like that in the end…. I added “sour cream” on top along with Cilantro and also had bought a bottled mint chutney at the Punjab. The Girls really enjoyed this one too. It is also filling with the protein the chickpeas provide!

Recipe:

1 box falafel mix

3/4 C cold water

2 T vegetable oil

1 28 oz chopped tomatoes

1/2 t salt

1 oz package chili seasoning (you can sub chili powder, cumin, etc…)

1 15.5 oz can of chick peas

a few splashes of hot sauce as desired

Combine falafel mix and cold water in a bowl, mix well and let rest for 20 minutes

Heat vegetable oil in frying pan, add falafel mixture and saute of medium heat breaking up mixture into crumbles

When mixture is dry and crumbly, add tomatoes with liquid, salt, chili seasonings and drained chick peas. Mix well and reduce heat

Cook chili until thoroughly heated

Scoop into bowls and garnish with your favorite garnish. Sour Cream or shredded cheese substitutes work well as does cilantro

Makes 4 hearty servings

Enchiladas en Salsa Roja

catalina-de-cuenca — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:20:01 -0500

Posted By: Catalina-de-Cuenca

Hi All,

Its been a while since I have posted recipes, the reality is that I have not been cooking as much. But after much thought and numerous days of eating potato chips and gummy bears from the vending machine, I realized that that I needed to re-join the lovely vegan group (which not only saves me many hours of cooking but also money)

I decided on this recipe in an effort to keep up my fellow co-workers and their elaborate dishes :p

I looked at a series of vegan and non-vegan enchilada recipes and came up with own version.

Ingredients

· 1 can of pinto beans

· 1 can of black beans

· 1 cup of corn

· 1 cup of chopped onions

· 2 tablespoons of garlic

· 1 cup of sliced red peppers

· 1 cup of sliced green peppers

· 2 cups of sliced mushrooms

· 3 cups of enchilada red sauce

· 6 large tortillas

· 1 tablespoon of cumin

· 1 teaspoon of salt

· 1 tablespoon of chili powder

· 1 tablespoon of olive oil

· Cilantro

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350F and set aside a casserole big enough for 6 enchiladas

In a large skillet start by sautéing the onions for a few minutes, once the onions have caramelized add the garlic, peppers, and mushrooms and continue sautéing for another few minutes.

Continue by adding the beans, corn and 2 cups of enchilada sauce while stirring constantly. Lastly add the salt, cumin, and chili powder (adjust seasoning if necessary)

Use ½ cup of enchilada sauce onto the bottom of the casserole and spread.

Scoop about three tablespoons of the mixture onto each tortilla and wrap (repeat for the remaining 5 tortillas. Use the remaining of the enchilada sauce (1/2 cup) to spread over the top

Bake your enchiladas at 350f for approximately 20 minutes

Serve with sour cream and sharp cheddar (for those non-vegans)

Buen Provecho!