Tag Archives: vegan

Mole Roasted Cauliflower & Sweet Potatoes

04 Friday May 2012

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Mole Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potatoes

Continuing the countdown to Cinco de Mayo, I had Gazpacho on my mind for today. It’s one of my favorite dishes, very refreshing and satisfying, but you really want something paired with it to make a full dinner.

There was a half head of cauliflower in my fridge that needed using, so I went on a recipe hunt and was happy to find this mole cauliflower recipe shared in 2010 by The Kitchen Operas (which was adapted from one shared by Gluten-Free Girl in 2005…so my evolution is at least the third generation). True mole is very labor intensive to make, so I’m excited to have a quick version of that wonderful flavor profile to whip up any night of the week.

Mole Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Ingredients

Ingredients

  • Half head of cauliflower, cut into medium florets
  • 1 medium sweet potato, cut into medium chunks
  • 1 tbsp cacao powder
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • .5 tsp sea salt or garlic salt (I used Libertine’s Dynamic Duo)
  • .25 cups grape seed oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°
  2. Combine all the dry ingredients and mix into the oil
  3. Pour over cauliflower and sweet potato in a large bowl and stir until the vegetables are coated
  4. Spread evenly in a large roasting pan or cooking sheet lined with tin foil
  5. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, flipping at least once, until they are cooked to your liking

Note on the spiciness: I would call the heat level on this “medium-hot” so adjust the red pepper flakes to your preference – although the gazpacho was the perfect balance for this little kick this had.

If you pick up this recipe and move it forward again, please let me know!

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Fiesta Salad

02 Wednesday May 2012

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Fiesta Salad

Continuing our countdown to Cinco de Mayo, here’s an easy and delicious vegetable  bean salad. It’s finished with yesterday’s Cumin Lime Dressing, which contributes a bright flavor to underscore the freshness of this dish.

I brought a bowl of this to an alumnae potluck last weekend, and waited until the last minute to toss in the cilantro so the green would stay vibrant. A beautiful addition to any table, this can be served as-is for a side dish, over spinach as an entrée salad, or as part of a taco salad with Vegan Taco Meat.

Fiesta Salad Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 batch of Cumin Lime Dressing (limes, vinegar, oil, cumin, s&p)
  • 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed well
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
  • 2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in quarters or smaller
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 3-4 green onions, minced to half way into green
  • 2 large ears of corn
  • .5 cups chopped cilantro

Instructions

  1. Make the dressing and let sit for flavors to marry.
  2. Lightly cook the corn to develop sweetness. I microwaved but might be better to boil and blanch. Don’t cook to the extent that you would eat corn on the cob – maybe half that much. When it cools, cut the kernels off with a sharp knife.
  3. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix in the dressing, starting with half and adding to your taste.

Substitutions

  • Kidney beans for either garbanzo or black beans
  • A quarter finely diced sweet or red onion for green onions
  • Cherry tomatoes for grape tomatoes (or diced Romas)
  • Store-bought cumin lime or lime cilantro dressing

Cumin Lime Dressing

01 Tuesday May 2012

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Cumin Lime Dressing Ingredients

This is an easy dressing that pairs especially well with Mexican food…because we’re gearing up for Cinco de Mayo! I’ll have a Fiesta Salad recipe that uses this dressing to share with you tomorrow, but it’s also great on a regular green salad.

Ingredients

  • Juice of 4 to 6 limes
  • 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced finely
  • 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
  • .5 cups light olive oil (I’m using half EVOO and half grape seed oil)
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • .5 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • .5 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients and mix/blend well. Adjust any ingredients as necessary to achieve a good balance – start with 4 limes and work up to 6, etc.

You may have noticed that my salt in this photo is a beautiful purple color. That’s because it’s the Trifecta Blend from Libertine and includes Alaea Red Hawaiian Sea Salt, Hiwa Kai Black Hawaiian Sea Salt, and Himalayan Pink Salt. All three have different essential trace minerals which are thought to help with chronic ailments from inflammation to depression. Plus it’s pretty, which is said to be good for your eyes ; )

Smoky Cauliflower Steak

27 Friday Apr 2012

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Cauliflower Steak

Last night I used the other half – the middle half – of the cauliflower head that went into cauliflower curry earlier in the week. I had saved these two vertical slices from the middle to try vegan cauliflower steaks, something I first saw on Working Class Foodies (new fav, you must watch them all). I pan fried them this time, but am looking forward to putting them on the grill when we fire it up for the season.

Cauliflower steaks look very dramatic and have a satisfying, filling texture. On their own they do not have a strong flavor, giving you the opportunity to season them however you like. Since I’m so excited about grilling season, I went with a smoky profile for this incredibly easy dish.

I had some alder wood smoked sea salt that I found in the bulk section of Town & Country market on Bainbridge Island. If your local grocery isn’t quite so comprehensive (they have an entire floor of bulk foods), you can order it from Libertine Tacoma and get the most delightful packaging at the same time. And trust me: this is not the only recipe you’ll use it in…

Ingredients

  • 2 vertical slices from the middle of a cauliflower head, .75 inches wide
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • .5 tsp smoked paprika
  • .5 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • .5 tsp alder wood smoked sea salt

Instructions

  1. Mix the spices and oil into a marinade and spread over both sides of your cauliflower steaks. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.
  2. Preheat your oven to 300°.
  3. Pan fry over medium heat, about 5 minutes per side, until you get some lovely brown caramelization (but not burning).
  4. If you have a pan that can transfer into the oven, pop it right in for another 10 minutes to finish cooking through, flipping once. Transfer to a casserole or baking sheet if your pan isn’t oven-ready.
  5. Serve immediately.

Frequently you’ll see people serve cauliflower steaks with a cauliflower puree or mashed cauliflower on the side to use the remainder of the head. Something to try next time as I’m getting to know this beautiful and nutritionally dense vegetable.

What’s your favorite cauliflower recipe? I’d love to try it!

Cauliflower Curry

23 Monday Apr 2012

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Cauliflower Curry

Since I tried fennel for the first time in February (now one of my favorite dishes) I’ve been wondering what else in the produce section has been missing from my life. Last night’s experiment: cauliflower.

Why have I been overlooking it? Maybe it’s because we’ve been so conditioned to avoid white foods. But cauliflower is the exception to that rule. In fact, it’s packed with nutrients: vitamin C and folate for immune defense, phytonutrients to fight cancer, and heart-healthy benefits to boot.

It’s also quite satisfying, with a dense texture that fills you up like bread or meat would. All that to say, I’ll be working cauliflower into my cooking more often moving forward. Here’s how I prepared it last night (the flavor was even better for lunch today!).

Cauliflower Curry Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup Indian curry paste
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into half-inch pieces
  • 10 brussel sprouts, cleaned and quartered
  • 2 roma tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 can (14 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed
  • 1/4 cup grape seed oil
  • 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 cup water or vegetable stock, plus more as needed

Instructions

  1. Heat oil over medium in a large stew pot.
  2. Sautee onions for 1 minute.
  3. Add curry paste and tomatoes, stirring until incorporated and tomatoes get smashed.
  4. Add sweet potatoes and water or stock, simmering for 5 minutes covered.
  5. Add cauliflower and salt, simmer for another 5 minutes covered. Add a little more water/stock if necessary to keep ingredients simmering and not sticking to bottom.
  6. Add brussel sprouts and garbanzo beans, simmer covered for 5 to 10 minutes until all ingredients are tender but still holding their shape.
  7. Serve over basmati rice.

Substitutions

  • Frozen peas instead of brussel sprouts
  • Carrots instead of sweet potatoes
  • Lentils instead of basmati rice

Quinoa with Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli

18 Wednesday Apr 2012

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Quinoa with Sweet Potato and Broccoli

I’ve recently started cooking a few cups of quinoa to keep in my refrigerator for use in salads, etc., throughout the week. It’s an easy way to make a salad more filling and add protein – plus it soaks up all the dressing at the bottom. Yum.

Quinoa holds up better if made a little dry – instead of a 2:1 ratio of water to grain per the instructions, I’ll usually use 3.5 cups of water with 2 cups of grain.

In addition to salads, this recipe below is an excellent way to use quinoa. It’s similar to a stir fry but different enough to be a new trick up your sleeve. Most of all, you have to love the flavor complexity and nutritional credentials this dish packs into just one bowl.

Quinoa with Sweet Potato and Broccoli Ingredients

I found the original recipe online, here’s my adaptation:

Ingredients

  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 2 cups broccoli or broccolini florets
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
  • .5 cups whole raw almonds
  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 3 tbsp grape seed oil
  • 2 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp Sriracha

Instructions

  1. Mix the Bragg’s, sesame oil and Sriracha into a dressing and pour over the quinoa. Toss in a large bowl and set aside.
  2. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, cook the sweet potato cubes in enough water to barely cover. Check regularly, remove from heat and drain when they begin to soften. Maybe 10 minutes.
  3. In a large nonstick pan over medium heat, sauté the onions, garlic and almonds in grape seed oil for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and partially-cooked sweet potatoes and sauté all for another 5 minutes. Don’t overcook – you want the broccoli to stay vibrant green and the sweet potatoes to keep their shape.
  4. Transfer vegetables into bowl with flavored quinoa and toss all ingredients together.

Vegan Taco Meat

05 Thursday Apr 2012

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Vegan Taco Meat

In recent weeks, Americans have had a rude awakening about what’s actually in the meat served at fast food restaurants and sold in grocery stores. Pink Slime may be putting the “ew” in news lately, but the real shock is that’s anybody’s surprised. Ground beef and chicken nuggets couldn’t look less like natural pieces of animal, so they are the perfect place to hide the bits that nobody wants to see.

Our widespread cultural approach of willful ignorance about what we put in our bodies is one of many reasons I stopped eating meat. If you want to know exactly what’s in every bite of the protein on your plate, the good news is…you can just make it yourself! And although I wouldn’t categorize this as a “quick and easy” recipe, at least it doesn’t involve an industrial centrifuge.

Seitan is a protein made from wheat that you can season and shape almost any way you want. Here’s a basic seitan recipe, but this week I took it a step further and made my own vegan taco meat. This recipe yields about 4 cups, or eight servings.

Vegan Taco Meat Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1.25 cups Vital Wheat Gluten
  • 3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
  • 1 tbsp Onion Powder
  • 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tbsp Cumin Powder
  • 1 tbsp Chili Powder
  • 1 tsp Paprika
  • 1 tsp Dried Oregano
  • 2 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
  • .75 cups Water
  • 4 cups Vegetable Stock + 2 cups Water
  • 1 Head Garlic, rinsed
  • 1 Onion, rinsed
  • 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 2 tbsp
  • .25 cups Grape Seed Oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. We’ll start by making the seitan dough. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (gluten, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, chili, paprika, oregano), then combine the .75 cups of water and liquid aminos. Pour the water mixture into the gluten mixture and stir immediately, then kneed when stirring becomes difficult. You want to work this dough harder than you would with bread dough to encourage the protein to firm up for a meaty texture. When ingredients are fully incorporated and worked, set aside for at least 15 minutes.
  2. In the meantime, prepare the broth mixture to cook the seitan dough. Combine the 4 cups of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water in a stew pot over medium heat. Cut your garlic bulb in half and pull out several cloves, putting the rest of the bulb into the broth. Mince the cloves you retained. Remove the ends and outer layer of your onion and put those in the broth. Finely dice the onion and save for later. If you have the head of a jalapeno, that can also flavor the broth.
  3. When the broth boils, reduce heat to a simmer. Take your ball of seitan dough and cut chunks of approximately two inches and put them into the broth. Kitchen scissors are really helpful for this. Let them simmer for 45 minutes. They’ll increase significantly in size and float.
  4. Intermission. This is a great time to make some homemade salsa!
  5. Ok, the seitan is done. Remove the chunks with a slotted spoon and use another spoon to press out any excess liquids. Put the cooked seitan and tomato paste into a food processor and pulse until it has taco meat texture.
  6. Last step. In a large pan over medium heat, sauté the seitan, minced garlic, chopped onion and sesame seeds in the grape seed oil for 10-15 minutes. You can boost the flavor with additional seasonings if you want, plus the salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally, but do allow it to brown.

Now you have a flavorful taco meat that has great texture to use in burritos, on nachos, in taco salad, etc. Here’s the bonus: this recipe has no cholesterol and it’s lower in fat, calories and sodium than taco meat made from lean ground beef.

Homemade Vegetable Stock

28 Wednesday Mar 2012

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Homemade Vegetable Stock

I might use 2 to 3 quarts of vegetable stock per month, maybe more in the winter, which isn’t really a lot. But at almost $4 for a quart of the good stuff, that’s over $100 per year. Meanwhile, I’ve been throwing away all my fresh vegetable scraps. I finally realized, it doesn’t add up. Now that I know how to make my own delicious no-sodium vegetable stock, I’m feeling clever four times over: one for the money, two for the waste, three for the salt, and four for the taste!

Vegetable stock is less of a recipe per se and more about knowing the theory and then improvising for the occasion. There’s no consensus on the right way to make stock, every cook finds her own. Here’s what I’ve learned from reading tons of recipes and finally just doing it my way…

The Foundation: The one thing everyone does agree on is that a stock starts with three key aromatic vegetables: onion, celery, and carrot. In French cuisine, this holy trinity is called mirepoix (meer-PWAH) which loosely translates to “some French Duke who hired a really good chef.” You might see leeks instead of, or in addition to, onions. Same with parsnip and carrots. But some version of mirepoix will be the base every time.

Herbs: The two other elements that you’ll find across the board are peppercorns and bay leaves. Also very popular are garlic and parsley. The stems of fresh herbs are perfect for stock. So if you’re using the leaves off a bunch of parsley or cilantro, you’ll be able to use the other half that isn’t leafy here. If you have fresh thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, or basil – toss some into the pot!

Fats: In about a quarter of the recipes I’ve seen, people use butter, olive oil, or both. I don’t use any fats because stock is always an ingredient in something else, and I’d rather measure the fats for the final recipe.

Salt: Just like with fats, I don’t add any sodium because the stock is not the final product. But lots of people do put salt and/or Tamari in their stock. If you do want to try, start with 2 tsp salt per quart of water and adjust to your liking.

Brightness: You’ll see this less frequently, but it’s something I usually do: add some white wine or lemon. It’s easier to overdo the lemon – half of an already squeezed one per 2 quarts is enough. Wine, on the other hand, adds richness as well as brightness – anywhere from a quarter to a full cup is great.

Everything Else: The woody part of asparagus, bok choy butts, broccoli and cauliflower stems, chard or beet greens, sweet potato peelings, fennel stocks, zucchini and summer squash, the top of one red bell pepper without the seeds – all great additions to increase the complexity and balance of flavor. But the two I would be loath to leave out are mushrooms and tomatoes, both for the umami they add, thereby rounding out the flavor experience and reducing the need to over-salt in the final dish.

Cooking Technique: Some folks oven roast the mirepoix and other hearty pieces first, drawing out and deepening flavors. If you do this you will need to use some type of fat. Other people toss everything into a pot of boiling water and walk away. My approach is in the middle: I do cook the onion, garlic, and herbs in white wine for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients and enough water to just cover them, about 2 liters. However you choose to start, we’ll all end with simmering our ingredients for 45 to 60 minutes and then straining out our very own homemade stock!

Storage: Stock will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months. A great idea is to freeze it in ice cube trays, then transfer into a freezer bag so you can easily thaw just the portion you need.

Watch-outs: Always use fresh ingredients, never anything that’s spoiled. Stock will not hide bad ingredients, it will amplify them. Rinse everything well and use organic if you can. Never let anything burn. If you’re making stock for a specific use, consider tailoring your mix of ingredients to complement that recipe (rosemary for Italian dishes, but not Mexican, etc.). On the flip side, consider avoiding flavors that are very distinctive if you’re making a batch for general/TBD use. I’d be careful with peppers – if the top of one mild red bell pepper makes its mark on the flavor profile, I can’t imagine what jalapeno scraps would do.

Sweet Potato Hummus

26 Monday Mar 2012

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Sweet Potato Hummus Ingredients

This recipe is based on one my friend Dena gave me months ago, which I finally got around to making. My loss, because it’s great! A nice flavor twist on traditional hummus, which I make all the time. And sweet potatoes add nutritional density that you don’t get from beans alone.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Large Sweet Potato, boiled until soft and then peeled
  • 1 Can Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed well
  • Juice from 1 Lemon
  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • .25 cups Tahini
  • .25 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Dried Sage
  • 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • Salt & Pepper to Taste

Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender until smooth. Great on wraps, as spread or for dipping.

Creamy Tahini Dressing (vegan)

08 Thursday Mar 2012

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Creamy Tahini Dressing Ingredients

This dressing is similar to the Annie’s Goddess dressing that’s so popular and delicious. It’s creamy enough that you do not miss having feta or goat cheese in a salad. I recommend it on a spinach salad with cucumbers, garbanzo beans and sunflower seeds…or on pretty much anything else, it’s that delicious.

This recipe yields a fairly thick dressing, so if you prefer something thinner you can add more lemon juice or even a little water.

Put the following in a blender until the garlic has been fully incorporated:

  • .5 cups tahini
  • .5 cups extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice from 2 large or 3 small lemons
  • 2 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp fresh ground pepper or more to taste

Note: If you don’t have red wine vinegar on hand, I suspect that apple cider vinegar would be a good substitute and contribute a little different but comparable brightness.