Archives for posts with tag: carrots

Quinoa Loaf With Mushrooms and Peas

August 7, 2010 //
0

You know a recipe is good when you wake up the next day and can’t wait to get through breakfast and lunch just so you can eat the leftovers for dinner. And then you decide, “Why wait for dinner?” and eat it for lunch instead.

I’ve been searching for a good vegan meatloaf recipe for quite some time and found this on the Whole Foods website. I wasn’t sure if it would cut it as a meatloaf alternative, but it was delicious. And easy to make. And budget-friendly. And healthy. I’d even go so far as to say that it’s one of my favorite recipes.

I will say that the quinoa loaf holds up better the next day. It kept falling apart on me when I served it the first night, but it still tasted great. The next day, the loaf was a lot firmer and easier to remove from the pan in a single piece.

The original recipe didn’t call for it, but I added ketchup to the top of my quinoa loaf for a more authentic “meatloaf” taste.

Quinoa Loaf With Mushrooms and Peas

(adapted from the Whole Foods recipe)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing

8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup rolled oats

2 cups cooked quinoa ( Learn to Cook: Quinoa)

1 cup frozen green peas

1 teaspoon minced dried thyme, crushed with your fingers

10 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped

1 cup (about 1 onion) chopped red onion

1/2 cup ketchup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch loaf pan with oil; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, put beans, oats and 1/2 cup water into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, bean mixture, quinoa, peas, parsley, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan, gently pressing down and mounding it in the middle. Bake until firm and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. About 15 minutes before it’s finished baking, take the loaf out of the oven and spread the ketchup on top. Put back in the oven for the remaining time. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

I served my quinoa loaf with a side of mashed potatoes and carrots that had a brown sugar and butter (Earth Balance) glaze.

Enjoy!

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Categories food, vegan

Nearly Raw Tahini Noodles

July 17, 2010 //
0

This is yet another awesome dish from Vegan Yum Yum. My wonderful friend and downstairs neighbor, Erin, made this for us for dinner a few weeks ago, and served it with bowl of homemade gazpacho. It was the perfect meal for a hot, summer evening.

Instead of posting the recipe here, I’m going to be lazy and just post the link to the recipe of Vegan Yum Yum. I’ve noticed that she (Lauren Ulm) hasn’t posted to her blog in a while, but don’t let that keep you from bookmarking it. There are tons of wonderful recipes, including some that aren’t in her cookbook.

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Categories food, vegan

Vegetable Fried Rice

June 18, 2010 //
2

I love Chinese takeout. I love the flavors, the chopsticks, the cute little boxes, and the overall convenience of it. But more often than not, I walk away feeling kind of gross and regretful after eating a plateful of vegetable lo mein and fried rice from our local Chinese restaurant. When I make my own Asian-inspired food at home, not only is it healthier, but I actually think it tastes better than takeout.

This recipe is loosely based on the one in the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook; I modified it quite a bit. It’s not authentic by any means, but it was a great way to use up some veggies that I had on-hand; hence the Brussels sprouts. There’s a lot of room for experimentation here. Also, you can use any kind of deep pan for this dish, but I finally broke down and purchased a wok. And let me tell you, it makes cooking this dish, and any other kind of stir-fry dishes, much easier.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Serves 6

Ingredients:


4 cups cooked brown rice

¼ cup toasted sesame oil

1 14oz package of extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into ¾-inch cubes

2 cups chopped broccoli

3/4 cup Brussels sprouts, cut in half length-wise

½ cup carrots, sliced

¾ cup button mushrooms, quartered

½ cup chopped red onion

½ cup low-sodium tamari, plus 2 tbsp

2 tbsp mirin

½ tsp ginger powder

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Black pepper to taste

Sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:

Cook the rice according to directions.

In a wok, add a tablespoon of the sesame oil to the pan and add your tofu. (Be careful, the moisture from the tofu will cause the oil to pop and splatter.) Fry your tofu until golden brown on all sides.

Mix the 2 tbsp of tamari and ½ tsp ginger powder and add the mixture to the tofu. Once the tamari mixture has been soaked up by the tofu, take the tofu out of the wok and set aside.

Add another splash of sesame oil to the pan and add the broccoli and Brussels sprouts to the wok. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for a minute more, stirring constantly. Take out of the wok and set aside.

Add yet another small splash of sesame oil to the wok and add the red onion, carrots, and mushrooms to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes. Take out of the wok and set aside.

Add the last bit of sesame oil to the wok and add your cooked brown rice. Stir a few times, and then add the rest of the tamari and the mirin. Stir to coat the rice. Add the cooked tofu and veggies back to the wok and stir to incorporate. Add freshly cracked black pepper, top with sesame seeds, and serve.

I like to add a little Sriracha sauce on top for an extra kick.

Enjoy!

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Categories food, vegan

Chickpea Cutlets With Roasted Vegetables

May 8, 2010 //
0

I try to plan my meals so that nothing goes to waste; there’s nothing I hate more than throwing out food. But every now and then, I find myself with leftover veggies from previous recipes that need to be used before they go bad. That was the case with this meal. Now, mind you, that doesn’t mean the meal was short on flavor; I’d gladly serve this meal to guests.

I adapted the Chickpea Cutlets recipe from Veganomicon. The cutlets are extremely easy and cheap to make. They are perfect if you’re in need of a “meaty” main dish.

For the roasted vegetables, you can use any variety of vegetables, but I just happened to have some Yukon Gold potatoes and carrots on-hand. I also had half a head of cabbage, so I sliced it and sautéed it in some olive oil, salt, and pepper. The dipping sauce was a mixture of Dijon mustard and Vegenaise (a mayonnaise substitute).

Chickpea Cutlets With Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

Chickpea Cutlets

1 15-ounce can cooked chickpeas

2 tbsp olive oil

½ cup vital wheat gluten (it’s cheaper if you can buy it in bulk)

½ cup panko or plain bread crumbs

¼ cup vegetable broth or water

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 cloves of garlic (I cheated here and used a dash of garlic salt—I was lazy, what can I say?)

½ tsp lemon zest

½ tsp dried thyme

½ tsp Hungarian paprika

¼ tsp dried rubbed sage

olive oil for panfrying

Roasted Vegetables

4 large carrots cut into large, even chunks

5 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into large, even chunks

¼ cup olive oil

1 tsp dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Dipping Sauce

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

3 tbsp Vegenaise

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the vegetables into even, uniform chunks so that they’ll cook evenly. Place them on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Toss and put the pan into the oven for about 40 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until no whole chickpeas are left. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead in the bowl for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed.

(Sorry for the lack of pictures here. I got a little too caught up in making the cutlets and forgot to take pictures.)

Preheat a heavy-bottomed nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Divide the cutlet mixture into four equal pieces. Knead each piece in your hand, and then flatten and stretch the dough to form the cutlet.

Add a thin layer of olive oil to the pan and cook the cutlets for about 6 to 7 minutes on each side. Add more oil if needed between flips. The cutlets should be fairly firm and lightly browned. Place on a paper towel to soak up any oil.

Serve with the roasted potatoes and carrots, cabbage (if using), and a dollop of the mustard dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

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Categories food, vegan

Tamarind Tofu Cabbage Bowl

May 2, 2010 //
4

I love cabbage. I really do. And I never really appreciated it until I went vegan. I love cooking it until just wilted, but still with just the right amount of crunch.

This recipe, which I adapted from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook (I modified the ingredient amounts), is one of my favorites to make. It’s extremely healthy, easy to make, and requires very few ingredients, so it’s also easy on the budget.

Tamarind Tofu Cabbage Bowl

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce block extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into squares

2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 cups cooked brown rice

2 carrots

5 cups shredded cabbage

3 tbsp tamarind chutney (I used a tamarind sauce that I found at an international grocery)

2 tbsp tamari

½ cup toasted, sliced almonds

Directions:

Combine the rice and carrots in a large bowl and toss well. The steam from the rice will cook the shredded carrots.

Fry the tofu in the oil until browned on both sides. Set aside.

Sauté the cabbage over high heat with a little oil until slightly softened and browned in some places.

Add the cabbage to the rice and carrots.

Make a sauce by mixing the tamarind sauce and tamari. Add the sauce and the tofu to the cabbage mixture and gently toss. Top with almonds. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

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Categories Uncategorized, vegan

Vegan Fish Fry

April 22, 2010 //
4

I came across this yummy recipe on one of my new favorite blogs, The Vision Quest of Life.  If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend you take a look. Wendy has tons of insightful and informative posts on veganism, including some awesome recipes. Her blog makes me want to be a better vegan.

These Herbed Tofu Filets turned out even better than I had hoped, and they were actually pretty easy to make. The panko breading was golden and crunchy and delicious. I made my own coleslaw, which is extremely easy and leaves a lot of room for experimentation.

The next time I make the filets, I’m going to make a side of mac and cheeze to round out the meal. Oh, and hush puppies. You can’t have a fish fry without hush puppies, right?

You can find the recipe for the Herbed Tofu Filets and tartar sauce on The Vision Quest of Life, but I’ve posted my coleslaw recipe below:

Easy Coleslaw

Ingredients:

Half a head of green or red cabbage, sliced thinly or shredded

2 large carrots, shredded

¼ cup Vegenaise

2 tbsp plain soy or almond milk

Juice from ½ a lemon

½ tsp mustard powder

2 tsp dill

2 tsp agave nectar (optional—I like a little sweetness to my coleslaw)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add the shredded cabbage and carrots to a large bowl.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and add it to the cabbage and carrots. Chill the coleslaw for at least 30 minutes.

Serve on the side with your tofu filets and tartar sauce.

Enjoy!

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Categories food, vegan

Dinner and a Movie

April 12, 2010 //
2

In an effort to save money, my husband and I have been having date night at home. And because we’re big dorks, we’ve decided to match our meals with our movies.

This past week, we sat down to watch Akira Kurosawa’s classic 1954 action drama, Seven Samurai. And let me tell you, it’s an amazing movie. Yes, it’s long, but it’s a must-see for any fan of the cinema.

As for the food, I settled on yet another recipe from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook. I know, I know, it seems like every recipe that I make is from there, but what can I say? I was looking for an Asian-inspired dish that was both cheap and delicious, and the Seven Spice Udon recipe certainly fit the bill. (Get it? Seven Samurai and Seven Spice Udon — clever, huh?)

I did have to make a separate trip to my local Asian food market to pick up the Japanese Seven Spice (also called Nanami Togarashi or Shichimi Togarashi), but the spice mixture is what makes the dish. And it’s cheap; I picked up a jar for $1.99. It’s a mixture of chili pepper, orange peel, black and white sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, ginger, and seaweed. And a bit of a warning: it packs some heat, so don’t get too carried away with it as I did when I first made the dish. It was painful.

Also, I modified the recipe a bit to include more veggies, and in doing so, I increased the tamari and vinegar amounts. I also added sesame seeds for garnish and a little more texture.

Seven Spice Udon

Ingredients:

8 to 9 ounce package of udon noodles

2 to 3 tbsp oil (I used toasted sesame oil)

10 Brussel sprouts, shredded

5 small carrots, sliced thinly

1 ¾ tsp Japanese Seven Spice

4 tbsp low-sodium tamari or soy sauce

3 tbsp brown rice vinegar

sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Cook the udon noodles according to the directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and add a little sesame oil to coat and prevent them from sticking together.

Heat half of the oil in a non-stick sauté pan and add the Brussel sprouts, carrots, and ¼ tsp of the Japanese Seven Spice to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes, or until just tender. Take out and set aside.

In the same pan, heat the rest of the oil and add the cooked udon noodles. Let them cook for a few minutes over high heat until they start to form a crispy noodle pancake.

Turn the noodles and add the vegetables, tamari, rice vinegar, and remaining Seven Spice.

Top with sesame seeds and serve.

I could easily see myself craving this dish on a regular basis. I made it in about 15 minutes, which is less time than it would take to order take-out. Next time, I might also add some shelled edamame for extra crunch.

Enjoy!!

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Categories food, movies, vegan
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