Tag Archives: vegan recipe

Sweet Potato and Fennel Salad

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Sweet Potato & Fennel SaladI never know where a recipe will come from. Some days it is a trip to the market. Other days, it is just thinking about food and flavor. Sometimes, my job pushes me to think outside the box and come up with Amuse Bouche, the one bite wonder that represents the chef and the restaurant.

This little gem came from one of those days when I had enough left over ingredients from Sunday Brunch to create this amazing flavor packed salad. I hope you enjoy it.

 

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Curried Sweet Potato & Fennel Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 Sweet Potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 bulb fennel thinly sliced
  • 1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp Cilantro chopped
  • 2 tbsp Mint chopped
  • 3 tbsp Curry powder (or make your own)
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh
  • Salt to taste
  • 1-2 tsp Black Pepper

Process

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. Toss in olive oil and lay out on a baking sheet. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft, but not mushy.

Cool down the sweet potatoes and set aside.

Julienne the fennel and red onion, as thin as you can. If you have a Japanese mandoline, they make fast work of this task. If not, use a very sharp knife to get as thin as you can.

Fine chop the cilantro and mint.

In a large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes, fennel, red onion, cilantro, mint, curry powder, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

Taste, adjust seasoning accordingly.

Serve for lunch with soups, or wraps. It makes a great snack too.

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How to Name Recipes? Eggplant Mung bean Drumsticky Stuff?

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Vegetables for Eggplant & Mungbean StewThere has been an abundance of eggplant here in the Valley of the Sun, so I thought I’d make a vegetable dish without using the cookbook. I followed steps I’ve learned, toasting the seed spices, soaking tamarind, and stacking flavors. I found a name for this recipe, and I think I like it. Let me know if you do.

You are probably wondering how to find some of the ingredients I use in this recipe. I have the advantage of having a Vietnamese Grocer several blocks from the house. I can buy some of the specialty items there, split mung beans and eggplant especially. For the bulk spices I go to the Herbalist down the street. They carry a decent supply of fresh herbs and spices. Their cumin is fantastic. When I need to find the exotic, there is a super chain called LeeLees that specializes in International foods. They have a great produce section as well as a selection of the Indian Spices I use. If you can’t find some of these ingredients in your market, check online, there are several reputable companies with reasonable prices. You can look into Chakra 4, they ship throughout the U.S, and to some other countries.

Toasting Spices, Soaking Tamarind

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Eggplant Mungbean Stew

51

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Eggplant Mungbean Stew

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp Sunflower oil or Olive Oil
  • 1 white Sweet Potato
  • 1 large or 2 small Japanese Eggplants (the purple ones) large diced
  • 1 drumstick large dice
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion sliced
  • 1/2 inch Ginger grated
  • 2 Red Fresno Chilis
  • 2 tsp Cumin Seed toasted
  • 2 tsp Fenugreek Seed toasted
  • 2 tsp Coriander Seed ground
  • 1 tsp Turmeric ground
  • 1 tsp Amchur (Mango) Powder
  • 1 large ball of Tamarind soaked in hot water
  • 1/2 bunch Cilantro finely chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • Mung Beans cooked

Process

Soak the tamarind in hot water for 15 minutes. Break up the tamarind and strain. Reserve the tamarind Juice.

Heat a large heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add the oil. Add onions and ginger, saute until onions become soft. Add sweet potatoes, saute for another minute or two. Then add eggplant, drumstick, and chilis. Cook until the vegetables become tender.

In another sauce pan, place mung beans and 3 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer. Cook until mung beans become mushy.

While vegetables and beans are cooking, toast each spice seed separately. Place in a skillet on low and toast for 3-4 minutes until seeds release their aroma.

Add the turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, coriander, amchur powder, and tamarind juice to the vegetables. Cook another 5 to 7 minutes, or until the spices are incorporated.

Serve hot over the Mung beans, with flat bread or crackers.

note I added cherry tomatoes to this recipe because I needed to use them up. You can use Romas or regular cherry tomatoes.

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Kick up the Flavor of Condiments: Sour Cream Goodness

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Sour cream by itself is pretty plain. For me it falls under the same category as mayonnaise, it’s that white gooey stuff with no flavor. As I was putting together a class I knew that I couldn’t serve just plain sour cream, I’d have to put a Sonoran spin on it. Here’s what I came up with. I love cilantro, and use it…alot…Mixed with garlic and onions, delicious. Try this out next time you make Tofu Chili Tacos, trust me, the diners will be back.

Oh, and this is made with tofu sour cream (Tofutti), but you can use the real stuff if you want.

 

Cilantro Sour Cream

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream or Tofutti Sour Cream
  • 2 tbsp Cilantro chopped
  • 1/4 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
  • ¼ tsp Salt

Process

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Chill before serving.

 

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Squash, the New Mexican Way

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Zucchini SquashThe late summer brings squash season. Yellow, green, crook necks, grey squash. Squash in all it’s abundance. But what can you do with these soft and delicious vegetables? New Mexico solved the problem by inventing this dish. Simple, yet full of the things that are good for you.

Calabacitas

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp 4-6 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tomato, diced ½ bunch chopped cilantro Salt and Pepper Cooking oil
  • 4-6 Mexican Gray Squash, large dice
  • 1 Red pepper, medium dice
  • 1 Poblano/Pasilla chili, medium dice
  • 1/2 Red onion, medium dice
  • 4-6 Garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1/2 cup Roasted corn
  • 1 Tomato, diced
  • ½ bunch Cilantro chopped
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Process

Heat up a skillet, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the peppers, onions, and garlic. Sautee until the veggies start to brown. Turn the heat down to medium, then add the squash. Cook until the squash becomes tender but not mushy.

Add cilantro, tomato, and salt and pepper.

And here is a great story and description of New Mexican Calabacitas.

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Arroz, Spanish Rice that isn’t so Spanish

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I grew up calling Arroz Spanish Rice. This followed me into adulthood, and up into my 30′s. I found out not to long ago, that what I learned to call Spanish Rice isn’t so Spanish. It really doesn’t have anything to do with Spain, or how they cook rice in that country (think Paella). Arroz really is Mexican Rice, cooked in a tomato base with peppers, onions and garlic. I’ve been making this rice for as long as I remember, back to when I would stay with my grandparents on the farm. I’ve since perfected it, and made Arroz palatable for the Vegan.

Arroz is traditionally cooked with chicken stock. My version uses vegetable stock which when made right comes close to tasting like chicken stock. So try this recipe out on your non-vegetarian/vegan friends, and don’t tell them there’s no meat in it. They’ll come back for more.

Arroz (Mexican Rice)

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp Cooking oil
  • 1 cup Rice (your choice)
  • 2 Roma tomatoes pureed
  • 1 ½ cups Vegetable stock
  • 4 Tomatoes, pureed (you can use canned tomatoes if you wish)
  • 2 Jalapenos, diced
  • ½ Yellow onion, diced
  • 3-4 Garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 2 Limes juiced
  • ½ bunch Cilantro chopped
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Process

Soak rice in water for several hours, then drain.

Heat up a large skillet, and add the oil. When the oil is hot, stir in the rice. Toast the rice until it starts turning darker.

Add jalapenos, onions, and garlic. Sautee until the onions are soft and translucent. Pour in the liquid. Bring to a boil, then turn to a simmer and cover.

Cook the rice for 35-40 minutes, or until it is done. Take off the heat and add the chopped cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper.

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Move over Pinto, here comes the Black Bean

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In traditional Southwestern cooking, the pinto bean is king. Pintos are in everything. Traditionally, they are the bean that makes up Refried Beans. But pinto beans are starchy, they have a high fat content. And when you add something like lard (traditional way to refry the bean), the calories go off the scale.

In developing Sonoran cooking for those who want no meat but all the flavor, I’ve come up with this little goodie. Smashed black beans. Cooked in a high heat oil like Sunflower, and you can add that flavor, without adding the fat. Beans are also traditionally cooked in some kind of meat stock. I cook mine either in just plain water, or in vegetable stock. Either way, because of the red chili sauce, there’s flavor in this side dish.

Smashed Black Beans

30 minutes

30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Black beans, cooked
  • ½ to ¾ cup sunflower oil (corn oil works better but I have an allergy)
  • ¼ cup Red Chili Sauce
  • Salt to taste

Process

Heat up a large skillet and add ½ the oil. When the oil is hot, but not boiling, add the beans. Mash with a potato masher until the oil incorporates into the beans. Add ½ the chili sauce, and salt. The beans don’t have to be mashed smooth, just until they are broken up and look close to refried beans. Add more salt if needed.

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Meatless Enchiladas That Will Have Them Begging for More

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In case you haven’t guessed, I love roasted vegetables. I’ll stuff them, make salsas, chop them up in salads, put them on a dinner plate with portabello mushroom burgers… And now, here’s one more use for roasted veggies: stuff them into corn tortillas, topped with sauce and cheese (soy or real, your choice), bake in an oven for just a little while, and serve with smashed black beans, arroz, and calabacitas. Add guacamole, herbed “sour cream” and roasted salsa, and you’ll have your kids, your neighbors, and your mom begging for more. Please, don’t forget the guacamole.

Enchiladas take less time than you might think, especially if you get the rest of the family involved in rolling them. Follow these recipes and in under an hour you’ll have dinner on the table –  and happy diners.

Roasted Veggies

 Ingredients

  • 1 Italian squash
  • 1 yellow squash
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • Salt

Process

Slice up the ingredients and place on a sheet pan. Coat with a little herb oil, and broil in an oven (If you are a grill master, stick em on the grill, blacken the peppers, and cook onions and squash until tender). Remove vegetables when tender, and the skin on the peppers look wrinkled. Be careful, all the veggies might not cook at the same time.

Chop all the veggies up into bits. You want them small enough so you can roll them in tortillas. Add a little salt and pepper. Use in Roast Veggie Enchiladas, or as taco filling.

 Roast Veggie Enchiladas

 Ingredients

  • Corn tortillas-enough for 2-3 per person
  • Roasted Veggies
  • Cheddar Cheese, or Daiya cheddar soy cheese
  • Tomatillo Sauce
  • ½ cup diced tomatoes
  • Cilantro for garnish

 Process

Dip tortillas in a small amount of warm oil. Lay out on a work surface and stuff with Roast Veggies and cheddar  or vegan cheese, then roll up the tortillas. Lay into a baking pan big enough to hold the amount you are cooking. Top with Tomatillo Sauce and more cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Top with diced tomatoes and sliced black olives.

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Watermelon as Gazpacho

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Summer is almost here, and that means cold soups, gazpachos, and watermelon, lots of watermelon. And watermelon can be the base for a great raw soup. I found this version at The Sunny Raw Kitchen, and with a few tweaks, made it fabulous. Be warned, it makes a lot of soup, (6 cups) and the habanero chili is hot, so play with caution, use gloves if you are sensitive to capsacuim.

Watermelon Soup

  • 3 cups watermelon (use seedless if you don’t like taking seeds out)
  • 1 habanero chili
  • 1 mango, diced (can be large diced)
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom seed
  • 1 tsp agave syrup
  • 1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
  • finely dieced watermelon and mango pieces for garnish

Assemble all ingredients. Remove cardamom seeds from their shells. Place all ingredients except for cilantro and agave in blender and puree. Transfer to a bowl, and add agave and cilantro. Garnish with finely diced mango and watermelon pieces. Serve on a hot day with fresh-made lemonade.

Just a note: To make this a truly raw soup, omit the agave syrup. Melon and mango are sweet enough on their own.

Traditional Gazpacho is defined as a cold Spanish tomato-based raw soup. Modern variations include Avocado, Cucumber, Parsley, Watermelon, grapes, meat-stock, seafood, as well as other ingredients. If there are those who want to argue that Watermelon cannot be gazpacho, I beg to differ. If the definition of gazpacho is cold and raw, then this Soup is Gazpacho.

 

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Black Bean and Tempeh Chili Recipe

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Chili BowlI’ve been making Chili in various forms for as long as I’ve been cooking, and that really is quite a long time. In the days before my vegan life, I used choice cuts of meats, and once in awhile scored some great venison. I had to adjust the recipe for use with products like tofu and tempeh. They don’t have the fat that animal product does, so I use a little more oil to sweat the vegetables, and lime juice to deglaze the pan. This recipe is the result of the happy mix between chilis, tempeh, and black beans.

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Very Vegan Black Bean Chili

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp safflower oil
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 1/4 cup onions, diced
  • 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 jalapenos, diced
  • or 1 jalapeno, 1/2 poblano, 2 anaheim chilis, diced
  • 1 tbsp cumin seed
  • 2 tbsp red chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it hot)
  • 1 lb tempeh, minced
  • Juice of 2 or 3 limes
  • 1 cup cooked black beans
  • 1 cup cooked red kidney beans
  • 4 cups Vegetable Stock
  • Chopped Cilantro for garnish
  • Lime wedges for garnish

Process

In a sturdy stock pot, heat up the oil. Add the carrots and saute until soft. Add the peppers, onion, and garlic. Add a pinch of salt to the mirapoix. This will allow the sweet flavors of the vegetables to come out. Saute until almost soft, or the onions turn translucent.

Chili Mix

Add the tempeh and stir. Add chili powder and cayenne. If necessary add a bit more oil to make the chili powder into a paste. De-glaze with lime juice. Add the beans, stir around some more. Add the vegetable stock.

Chili Mix with Beans

Cover and cook on simmer for 2-3 hours. Even though the beans are already cooked, the flavor of the mirapoix and stock need to soak into the beans.

Notes

Serve garnished with limes, cilantro, and vegan cheese. (we use daiya)

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Base Squash Soup Recipe

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As a final tribute to the Squash we’ve been discussing this month, here’s a base recipe that several squash will take to. Remember adjust as you see fit for your own tastes. Stay warm, and I hope these recipes help warm your holiday season.

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Base Squash Soup Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Squash, pureed (pumpkin, acorn, butternut)
  • 2 tbsp grated ginger or ginger paste
  • 2 cups coconut milk (1 15 oz can)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks, whole
  • 5-6 whole cloves
  • 1/2 nutmeg grated
  • 2-3 whole star anise, broken
  • 1/2 tsp whole peppercorn (four pepper blend)
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 2 cups Squash, pureed (pumpkin, acorn, butternut)
  • S & P to taste

Process

Roast the squash in the oven using this process.

Grate the ginger with a microplane. Heat up the coconut milk in the stock pot, and add all the ingredients except for stock and squash. In a food processor, puree squash with 1 cup vegetable stock. Add to the coconut milk and spices. Add more vegetable stock to thin out soup. As the soup thickens during the cooking process, thin it out now and then with vegetable stock.

Cook for 20-25 minutes, allowing time for all the flavors to blend. Strain through a sieve, and serve hot with a dollop of tofutti cream.

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