We're back online! We've been super lazy about posting recipes. Not that we haven't been cooking... Just not posting... So here we are with a sloppy joes recipe. We decided to try gardein, which is essentially fancy textured vegetable protein. I've heard great things about it and found it on sale at fresh and easy!
I got a packet in "ground beef" form and Sarah decided sloppy joes should be the first recipe. Warning as we begin: careful with the cayenne! We put one full teaspoon of red pepper in and paid the price for it later. Also when we added the soy sauce the cayenne evaporated with it caused coughing fits for both of us… so, moral is, be careful.
Vegan Sloppy Joes
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 or 1 medium zucchini, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/3 c gardein meatless ground
1/2 tsp cayenne or less (remember be careful!)
Oil to sauté the onion
1/2 c ketchup
Nutritional yeast as desired
Sauté onion until translucent, add zucchini and garlic for an extra minute or two. Add cayenne and stir until well covered. Stir in gardein, soy sauce and ketchup. Simmer for several minutes and add yeast as desired. You may need to add some water if it gets too dry while simmering.
Other than the extreme spiciness of our dish it was rely delicious. We served it with a half cup of brown rice pasta. Yum!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Too many dates
So as I moved to Cali, I found out that Hannah has been shopping at Cosco for some of her food. Its a great place to shop, don't get me wrong, but one of the downsize of shopping at Cosco is that sometimes you just get ways too much food. Sometimes this is a good thing, like when it comes to artichoke hearts, a food I could eat until I got sick, but then there are dates. She got a giant tub of them. She wanted to make vegan date ice cream and tried at first but then gave up... and then was stuck with the giant tub of dates.
Enter me into the picture. About two weeks ago I moved out here and was staying with Hannah until I found my own place. And like any good temporary housewife, I made lots of good foods. I like to try and use what is already in the house and what I had was dates. Now in my experience dates are really good for baked goods. Unfortunetly both Hannah and I are watching our figures and are not so interested in baked goods at this time. So I had to get a little more creative when I came to using the thousands of dates in Hannah's fridge. So I spent a good amount of time on the internet and epicurious looking for some other good delicious way to use dates. And low and behold my great googleing skills paid off. according to google there are many salads and sweet things to make with dates and then there is Date and Chickpea Tagine. Never heard of it. Neither had I until just a week ago.
The funny thing about my google results from this recipe is that many of the hits were also from other blogs. there was one legit recipe from Vegetarian Times and the rest were recipes slightly altered from that first one on a bunch of other food blogs. Blogs are such a funny thing. But anyways this recipe as follows is my give on this already passed around recipe.
Date and Chickpea Tagine
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Chopped Onion
4 Cloves of chopped Garlic
1 tps Cumin
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 15 oz can of Diced Tomatoes
1 15 oz can of Chickpeas
1 c Pitted and diced Dates
1/4 c Lemon Juice
1/2 c Coos Coos
1/2 c Water or vegetable broth
Add oil to a saucepan over medium heat. cook onions until caramelized, about 10 min. add garlic, cumin, cinnamon, tomatoes and chickpeas. Simmer for ten minutes. If more liquid is needed add 1/4 c water.
While that is simmering boil 1/2 c of water. When water has come to a boil add coos coos, stir and take off heat.
Once chickpea mixture has simmer for 10 min add dates and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste (we did not add anything else)
Serve Tagine over coos coos and enjoy!
This meal is very sweet, but somehow all the other flavors seem to still be able to pop out and be tasted. its funny, you can totally taste every single ingredient in it.
Enter me into the picture. About two weeks ago I moved out here and was staying with Hannah until I found my own place. And like any good temporary housewife, I made lots of good foods. I like to try and use what is already in the house and what I had was dates. Now in my experience dates are really good for baked goods. Unfortunetly both Hannah and I are watching our figures and are not so interested in baked goods at this time. So I had to get a little more creative when I came to using the thousands of dates in Hannah's fridge. So I spent a good amount of time on the internet and epicurious looking for some other good delicious way to use dates. And low and behold my great googleing skills paid off. according to google there are many salads and sweet things to make with dates and then there is Date and Chickpea Tagine. Never heard of it. Neither had I until just a week ago.
The funny thing about my google results from this recipe is that many of the hits were also from other blogs. there was one legit recipe from Vegetarian Times and the rest were recipes slightly altered from that first one on a bunch of other food blogs. Blogs are such a funny thing. But anyways this recipe as follows is my give on this already passed around recipe.
Date and Chickpea Tagine
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Chopped Onion
4 Cloves of chopped Garlic
1 tps Cumin
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 15 oz can of Diced Tomatoes
1 15 oz can of Chickpeas
1 c Pitted and diced Dates
1/4 c Lemon Juice
1/2 c Coos Coos
1/2 c Water or vegetable broth
Add oil to a saucepan over medium heat. cook onions until caramelized, about 10 min. add garlic, cumin, cinnamon, tomatoes and chickpeas. Simmer for ten minutes. If more liquid is needed add 1/4 c water.
While that is simmering boil 1/2 c of water. When water has come to a boil add coos coos, stir and take off heat.
Once chickpea mixture has simmer for 10 min add dates and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste (we did not add anything else)
Serve Tagine over coos coos and enjoy!
This meal is very sweet, but somehow all the other flavors seem to still be able to pop out and be tasted. its funny, you can totally taste every single ingredient in it.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Vegan Quiche
So I just moved to California and am bumming at Hannah's place until I find a place of my own and a job. For this reason there might be a bunch of recipes up over the next couple of weeks while I look for a job. I would also like to apologize for the lack of pictures over the next couple of posts. While I was in Nicaragua I lost my camera. I have been taking pictures but they are using Hannah's I-pod and i can't get them onto my computer thanks to not having the software downloaded on my comp. But pictures will be posted in a little bit.
The other day Hannah and I had some quests over to hang out and eat some good foods. The week earlier when I was visiting at my parents house my family had made normal quiche and since coming to Cali I had brought the idea up a few times to Hannah that we should try a vegan quiche. She was skeptical but willing to try it out.
Super excited about the idea I instantly started searching the web for vegan quiche ideas. Luckily there are about a million vegan quiche recipes out there and I was able to pick a nugget or two from a couple different ones. Although I got to say that the whole foods recipe looked the best in its complete form than any of the other ones. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2114
Vegan Quiche
1 vegan pie crust (I used Hannah's secret family recipe, sorry can't share)
1 package of firm tofu (squeezed to get all the liquid out)
1 medium onion chopped
2 cups of spinach (or more, the more veggie the merrier)
1 medium broccoli chopped
4-8 quartered artichoke hearts (dried of with a paper towel)
1 sliced pepper (red, green, or yellow, your choice)
1-2 shopped cloves of garlic
1/3 cups almond milk
2 Tbs tahini
2 tsp curry powder
2 Tbs olive oil
cayenne pepper to taste
Pre-heat oven 375
In a blender combine the tofu, almond milk, tahini, curry, cayenne until a paste. if too thick add more almond milk, or if you want a different flavor add some soy sauce.
In a frying pan saute the onions until translucent. add rest of veggies and cover until spinach is wilted.
In a medium bowl combine tofu mixture and vegetables
In a pie pan lay out pie crust. poke holes in the bottom with fork.
add mixture to pie pan
bake for 18-20 min
Once hard looking and a little brownish take out and enjoy with a little bit of ketchup.
We served this to our friends coming over, a risky business with new recipes, but the whole thing worked out great and our guests ate nearly the entire pie! Proof that is was delicious!
And not only is it delicious but it is crazy healthy. If you know anything about the weight watchers point system, something Hannah and I are a little addicted to, than you might be interested to know that this entire pie is only 18 points! Just another excuse to eat the whole thing and not feel bad about it. :)
The other day Hannah and I had some quests over to hang out and eat some good foods. The week earlier when I was visiting at my parents house my family had made normal quiche and since coming to Cali I had brought the idea up a few times to Hannah that we should try a vegan quiche. She was skeptical but willing to try it out.
Super excited about the idea I instantly started searching the web for vegan quiche ideas. Luckily there are about a million vegan quiche recipes out there and I was able to pick a nugget or two from a couple different ones. Although I got to say that the whole foods recipe looked the best in its complete form than any of the other ones. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2114
Vegan Quiche
1 vegan pie crust (I used Hannah's secret family recipe, sorry can't share)
1 package of firm tofu (squeezed to get all the liquid out)
1 medium onion chopped
2 cups of spinach (or more, the more veggie the merrier)
1 medium broccoli chopped
4-8 quartered artichoke hearts (dried of with a paper towel)
1 sliced pepper (red, green, or yellow, your choice)
1-2 shopped cloves of garlic
1/3 cups almond milk
2 Tbs tahini
2 tsp curry powder
2 Tbs olive oil
cayenne pepper to taste
Pre-heat oven 375
In a blender combine the tofu, almond milk, tahini, curry, cayenne until a paste. if too thick add more almond milk, or if you want a different flavor add some soy sauce.
In a frying pan saute the onions until translucent. add rest of veggies and cover until spinach is wilted.
In a medium bowl combine tofu mixture and vegetables
In a pie pan lay out pie crust. poke holes in the bottom with fork.
add mixture to pie pan
bake for 18-20 min
Once hard looking and a little brownish take out and enjoy with a little bit of ketchup.
We served this to our friends coming over, a risky business with new recipes, but the whole thing worked out great and our guests ate nearly the entire pie! Proof that is was delicious!
And not only is it delicious but it is crazy healthy. If you know anything about the weight watchers point system, something Hannah and I are a little addicted to, than you might be interested to know that this entire pie is only 18 points! Just another excuse to eat the whole thing and not feel bad about it. :)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Quick and easy: "Greek" sandwich
Sarah is back from Nicaragua! Luckily the typical stomach issues that she fell victim to down there were not lasting as mine were. Our vegan cooking has returned in full force and several recipes will follow but for now a quick and easy.
Sarah is obsessed with artichoke hearts. You know, the oily, marinated kind. It is unusual and a little disconcerting as she sometimes makes herself sick from eating too many. I finally tried one the other day and actually found it surprisingly enjoyable. My approval of them resulted in them being included in every meal for a week. The tastiest result was what I am calling a "Greek" sandwich (thou I doubt the Greeks would actually claim it. hence the quotes).
"Greek" sandwich:
Cut pita in half. Line the inside with hummus. Put a bit of romaine lettuce inside. Add 2 or 3 artichoke hearts in that sucker and enjoy!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Chard's Second Chance
After my last disappointing recipe using chard (see posting "green eggs and ham"), I was wary of buying more chard. However, I was at the local farmers market on Saturday morning when I saw some beautiful organic rainbow chard. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to allow chard to redeem itself.
I had lots of leftover green things that I needed to use up as well so I threw together this extremely healthy and exceptionally tasty dish:
Greeny Delight
1 zucchini, cut to 1/4 inch slices
1/2 lb brussels sprouts (abt 2 -3 cups), ends trimmed and quartered
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 cups rainbow chard
2 Tbsp soy sauce
water
Cook brussels sprouts in a thin layer of water on medium heat until slightly tender (about 5 minutes). Add the remaining vegetables and soy sauce. A small amount of water may be needed, but do not flood it. Cover and let cook until the chard has wilted (about an additional 10 minutes).
This meal was surprisingly delicious and unbelievably simple. I ate it with a small amount of rice. Chard has made a come-back!
I had lots of leftover green things that I needed to use up as well so I threw together this extremely healthy and exceptionally tasty dish:
Greeny Delight
1 zucchini, cut to 1/4 inch slices
1/2 lb brussels sprouts (abt 2 -3 cups), ends trimmed and quartered
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 cups rainbow chard
2 Tbsp soy sauce
water
Cook brussels sprouts in a thin layer of water on medium heat until slightly tender (about 5 minutes). Add the remaining vegetables and soy sauce. A small amount of water may be needed, but do not flood it. Cover and let cook until the chard has wilted (about an additional 10 minutes).
This meal was surprisingly delicious and unbelievably simple. I ate it with a small amount of rice. Chard has made a come-back!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
My New Friend
I invited my first California friend over for dinner and took the opportunity to make a new recipe! (I have found its easier to make two servings than one when following a recipe)
One of the benefits of being a minister is that certain congregations have amazingly generous spirits and help furnish your apartment to make you feel more at home. One wonderful woman in my congregation gave me her copy of the Moosewood cookbook, which has turned out to be a great resource. Many of the recipes are vegan and others are easily alterable.
So, from that cookbook I pulled a recipe for Brazilian Black Bean Soup. I completed the menu with a personal favorite (and staple of my diet), Root Vegetable Chips.
Brazilian Black Bean Soup
(This is the recipe as printed in Moosewood. I halved the recipe and made some slight alterations. My alterations other than halving are in parentheses.)
2 cups dry black beans, soaked (I used one can for the half recipe, rinsed)
6 cups water (with the can, this was unnecessary. I added a bit of water but not much)
1 Tbs olive oil
10 medium cloves garlic, crushed
3 cups chopped onion
2 tsp cumin
2 to 2.5 tsp salt (because of the canned beans, I did not add any salt)
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1.5 cups orange juice (living in citrus country, I just juiced 2 oranges for the half recipe)
black pepper, to taste
cayenne, to taste (I added spicy salsa as a topping, so I left the cayenne out)
2 medium tomatoes, diced (the recipe indicates this is optional but I thought it really added something. I would recommend the tomato)
Optional toppings: sour cream, cilantro, and salsa (I only used salsa)
1) Place the soaked beans in a kettle or Dutch oven with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until tender. About 1.25 hours. (skip this step if using canned beans, obv)
2) Heat olive oil in a medium-sized skillet (I just put this in a large pot and then added all ingredients on top). Add onion, half the garlic, cumin, salt, and carrot. Saute over medium heat until the carrot is just tender. Add remaining garlic and the bell pepper. Saute until everything is very tender, about an additional 10-15 minutes. Add the sauteed mixture to the beans, scraping every last morsel. (or add the beans to everything else, as the case may be)
3) Stir in orange juice, black pepper, cayenne, and optional (not really optional) tomatoes. Puree all or some of the soup in a blender or food processor (I did half and it was a good choice), and return to kettle (pot). Simmer over very low heat 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve topped with an artful arrangement of sour cream, cilantro, and salsa.
Serves 6-8 (or 2-3 if halved. I don't know how that works but that's what happened)
Root Vegetable Chips
Any root vegetable will work here, but basically a sweet potato or yam is a must. As you will see below, this recipe is extremely precise (sarcasm).
Root vegetables (including but not limited to sweet potatoes, beets, potatoes, yams, taro, etc.)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste AND/OR cayenne pepper and cumin for an extra zing
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut vegetables into thin chips as pictured above or into strips (like fries) pictured here:
Toss vegetables in a bowl with olive oil until all chips are thinly covered. Put chips onto a pan and shake spices on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes on each side (20-30 minutes total).
This final image is the foil that I put on the pan for roasting the root vegetables. It turned out beautiful thanks to the beets!
One of the benefits of being a minister is that certain congregations have amazingly generous spirits and help furnish your apartment to make you feel more at home. One wonderful woman in my congregation gave me her copy of the Moosewood cookbook, which has turned out to be a great resource. Many of the recipes are vegan and others are easily alterable.
So, from that cookbook I pulled a recipe for Brazilian Black Bean Soup. I completed the menu with a personal favorite (and staple of my diet), Root Vegetable Chips.
Brazilian Black Bean Soup
(This is the recipe as printed in Moosewood. I halved the recipe and made some slight alterations. My alterations other than halving are in parentheses.)
2 cups dry black beans, soaked (I used one can for the half recipe, rinsed)
6 cups water (with the can, this was unnecessary. I added a bit of water but not much)
1 Tbs olive oil
10 medium cloves garlic, crushed
3 cups chopped onion
2 tsp cumin
2 to 2.5 tsp salt (because of the canned beans, I did not add any salt)
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1.5 cups orange juice (living in citrus country, I just juiced 2 oranges for the half recipe)
black pepper, to taste
cayenne, to taste (I added spicy salsa as a topping, so I left the cayenne out)
2 medium tomatoes, diced (the recipe indicates this is optional but I thought it really added something. I would recommend the tomato)
Optional toppings: sour cream, cilantro, and salsa (I only used salsa)
1) Place the soaked beans in a kettle or Dutch oven with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until tender. About 1.25 hours. (skip this step if using canned beans, obv)
2) Heat olive oil in a medium-sized skillet (I just put this in a large pot and then added all ingredients on top). Add onion, half the garlic, cumin, salt, and carrot. Saute over medium heat until the carrot is just tender. Add remaining garlic and the bell pepper. Saute until everything is very tender, about an additional 10-15 minutes. Add the sauteed mixture to the beans, scraping every last morsel. (or add the beans to everything else, as the case may be)
3) Stir in orange juice, black pepper, cayenne, and optional (not really optional) tomatoes. Puree all or some of the soup in a blender or food processor (I did half and it was a good choice), and return to kettle (pot). Simmer over very low heat 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve topped with an artful arrangement of sour cream, cilantro, and salsa.
Serves 6-8 (or 2-3 if halved. I don't know how that works but that's what happened)
Root Vegetable Chips
Any root vegetable will work here, but basically a sweet potato or yam is a must. As you will see below, this recipe is extremely precise (sarcasm).
Root vegetables (including but not limited to sweet potatoes, beets, potatoes, yams, taro, etc.)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste AND/OR cayenne pepper and cumin for an extra zing
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut vegetables into thin chips as pictured above or into strips (like fries) pictured here:
Toss vegetables in a bowl with olive oil until all chips are thinly covered. Put chips onto a pan and shake spices on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes on each side (20-30 minutes total).
This final image is the foil that I put on the pan for roasting the root vegetables. It turned out beautiful thanks to the beets!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Green Eggs and Ham
Sometimes experiments don't work out the way you've planned. I found a recipe for "White Beans and Greens with Eggs" in a magazine from a local health food store. I've recently introduced kale into my diet and have been inspired to try more greens. I deleted the eggs from this recipe and ended up with a somewhat bland but assuredly healthy meal. I'm including the recipe in case anyone else can think of a way to make it better. I just added left over tomato sauce and it became satisfactory.
White Beans and Greens
1 can cannellini beans
1 bunch chard (washed, stemmed, and chopped)
1/2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T water
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 T olive oil
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and cover until greens are wilted (about 7 minutes).
White Beans and Greens
1 can cannellini beans
1 bunch chard (washed, stemmed, and chopped)
1/2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T water
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 T olive oil
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and cover until greens are wilted (about 7 minutes).
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