Tag Archives: vegan

Balsamic Marinated Beets

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Beets

I love beets but I’ve always just oven roasted them (how-to at bottom). That’s super easy and also quite efficient if you’re baking other things at the same time. But it’s not very “special.” So to class it up for some friends who were coming over, I borrowed from this recipe to make marinated beets. And the result is awesome – very flavorful and excellent texture.

Combine the following in a large stock pot and simmer for 30-45 minutes:

  • 6 red beets, peeled
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 4 cups water
  • .5 cups balsamic vinegar
  • .25 cups salt
  • .5 cups sugar

The time difference will depend on the size of your beets – they’re done when you can insert a knife easily to the center.

Also, if you’re cooking golden beets instead of red, you can substitute champagne vinegar to preserve their color.

And here’s a great way to use those beautiful beet greens: in a risotto!

If you want to oven roast your beets instead: Rinse them but leave the skins on and individually wrap in tin foil with a drizzle of grape seed oil. Then pop into the oven for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees. Skin usually slides off easily when done.

Fennel Lentil & Sausage (vegan style!)

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

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Fennel Lentil and Sausage

A couple weeks ago it was a beautiful sunny day in Seattle – an unseasonably early week of Spring that only served to get everyone’s hopes up. So I took full advantage and walked to Pike Place Market for some fresh fish and produce. One thing I picked up was this fennel:

Fennel

These fennels?

I’ve never cooked with fennel before, and evidently I’m the only one because I posted on facebook for suggestions and got an impressive response. (Guys, who didn’t tell me about fennel? What else do I need to know?)

I tried several of the recipe recommendations including a fennel salad thanks to comments from Adam, Lauren and Linsday, as well as garnishing cioppino with the fuzzy top part thanks to Adrienne and Heather. And this one came from Evan with the warmest wishes of all: “It’s high in fiber…stay regular!”

Fennel Lentil and Sausage Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried green lentils
  • 4.5 cups water
  • 1.5 tsp salt – I love Celtic Sea Salt for flavor and mineral content
  • 1 fennel bulb, diced (stalks removed)
  • Fennel fronts, chopped
  • .25 cups olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 4 Italian Sausage – I used these vegan guys here
  • 3 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped
  • .5 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar plus more to adjust flavor when done

Instructions:

  1. Cook lentils in water with .5 tsp salt uncovered for about 15 minutes – you want them to be just tender but not falling apart
  2. In a high-edged pan over medium, heat oil and stir in onion, carrot, fennel bulb, fennel seeds and remaining salt – cook for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender
  3. Drain lentils and stir into vegetable with .25 to .5 cups of the cooking liquid
  4. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, pepper, fennel fronds and vinegar
  5. In the meantime, heat the vegan sausage and cut into chunks – you could just add them into the vegetables to heat at the same time or use a separate skillet if you want to brown them (and if you’re using real meat, definitely cook fully in a separate skillet, then cut into chunks)
  6. Serve the lentil and vegetables with a few chunks of sausage on top and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil plus more vinegar and/or salt to taste

Stay regular, friends!

Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa

20 Monday Feb 2012

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Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa

I almost never buy salsa anymore, not since I got a food processor last year, because fresh homemade salsa is super easy and delicious. Here’s one of our favorite recipes.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • .5 tsp chili powder
  • .5 tsp chipotle powder
  • .5 tsp salt
  • .5 cups onion
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 1-2 tsp fresh jalapeno (optional per your heat preference)
  • 1 cup cilantro
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 3-4 tomatillos, papery wrappers removed and rinsed
  • 1-2 tomatoes

Salsa Ingredients

Instructions:

  1. Pulse the spices, salt, onion and garlic until finely chopped (here’s where jalapeno would go in)
  2. Add cilantro and lime juice, pulse several times
  3. Add tomatillos and tomatoes, pulse until they are the texture you prefer
  4. Between each step make sure to scrape the sides of the food processor with a spatula so all the ingredients get incorporated evenly

I like to separate the chunky part and use the juices to season my Spanish rice, etc.

One other note: this is a great way to use the cilantro stems since they are getting finely chopped anyway, so you can use the pretty top leaves for garnish.

Chia Seed Tea

18 Saturday Feb 2012

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Chia Seed Tea

Yep, chia seeds as in ch-ch-ch-chia pets. They are incredibly nutritious…and oddly delightful. My friend Kipp encouraged me to post this recipe – it’s so simple that I hadn’t even considered sharing it. But if you’re not familiar with chia seed, this is a great way to get started with them.

Some things you might like to know about chia seeds:

They were a staple of the Aztec and Mayan diets and even had ceremonial significance, so when the Spanish arrived on the scene they banned chia plants as one way to control the indigenous peoples.

One tablespoon is only 60 calories and contains 16% of your daily fiber. It also has 150% of your Omega-3 and is higher in antioxidant activity than blueberries. (Nutrition facts from Spectrum brand – the one I recommend and you can find at Whole Foods for $6 to $8 per bag.)

Chia seeds are about the same size as poppy seeds and have the wonderfully weird property of absorbing liquid into little bubbles surrounding them, turning into tapioca-like balls. They don’t have much flavor on their own, a little bit nutty.

They will absorb most liquids (for some reason not the coconut water I tried last week…?) so you can make puddings with them, for example. They serve as a thickening agent in this wonderful vegan gravy. And you can sometimes find them in kombucha, etc.

But this tea is the way I use them most often because it’s so easy. Here’s the recipe:

  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 cup freshly brewed tea, any flavor you like

Let the tea cool so it’s not super-hot, and it’s best to whisk in the chia seeds for a minute so they don’t clump together but get evenly distributed.

This ratio of 1 tbsp to 1 cup yields a pretty thick viscosity, so adjust to your liking. I drink 2 cups for breakfast most morning, which is fairly filling. I’ll make a couple days’ worth at a time and refrigerate.

That’s it! Hope you enjoy, and please share any chia recipes you love so I can try new ways to use these crazy little seeds!

Gazpacho

17 Friday Feb 2012

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Here’s something wonderfully refreshing. I’ll serve this instead of a salad with Mexican meals. Make it an hour or more ahead of time and refrigerate as gazpacho, like revenge, is a dish best served cold.

Ingredients and Instructions:

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Clockwise from top left:

  • 2 cups Tomato Juice (fresh if you have a juicer!)
  • ½ large Red Onion, chopped
  • ½ cup White Balsamic Wine Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Olive Oil (shown with vinegar)
  • 14 oz Diced Canned Tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp Cumin Powder
  • 1 tsp Chili Powder
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • 3 Cloves Garlic, chopped
  • 2 Red Bell Peppers, chopped
  • 1 Cucumber, chopped

You’ll need to put ingredients in your blender in several batches because of volume. Combine ingredients so that there’s enough liquid in each batch to get a smooth consistency. Mix batches in a large serving bowl.

Olé! 

Vegan Gravy

17 Friday Feb 2012

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This gravy is amazing! I made it for Thanksgiving with my boyfriend’s family. Everybody politely tried some at the beginning of the meal, but this was requested instead of the traditional turkey gravy for second helpings.

I found the recipe from RuthsFoods (she has a video tutorial) when learning how to use chia seeds, my new favorite toy. I should do a whole post on chia seeds, but for this recipe it’s enough to know that they are a thickening agent, absorbing liquid to form tapioca-like balls.

Ingredients and Instructions: 

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Clockwise from green bowl:

  • 1/2 white onion, minced
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth + 1/2 cup for later to adjust thickness as needed
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1-2 tbsp miso
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp powdered thyme (or other seasoning if you prefer)
  • Sprig of rosemary (again, or other as you like)
  • 2 tbsp oil (I’m using grape seed)
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast

In a large skillet, saute onions in oil until they turn translucent.

Add the nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and seasonings (thyme and rosemary, or whatever you choose) and stir so that they can absorb all the oil. Let this saute, stirring, for 5 minutes.

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Add the broth and chia seeds and mix well to avoid clumps. I like to mix the chia seeds into the broth before beginning so the have several minutes to plump up. At this point, reduce the heat to low and give the chia seeds time to absorb, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes.

Adjust the thickness with the additional broth. I typically stir in another 1/4 cup or more, slowly so I can gauge. The chia will continue to thicken it, so make it just a little thinner than you really want.

Remove from heat and add the miso, mashing to fully incorporate.

Voila! 

Basic Homemade Seitan

17 Friday Feb 2012

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Seitan (say-tan) is a vegan meat made from vital wheat gluten. This is only the protein part of the wheat berry with everything else removed. It’s also used as an additive while baking to give more volume to bread. A quarter cup, about what you might eat for dinner as seitan, has approximately 23 grams of protein and 10% of your daily iron.

What’s especially fun about seitan is the potential for seasoning. You can add anything you want, and the flavor will be mixed all the way through every bite. You can also make it into any shape, from meatloaf to taco meat.

Ingredients and Instructions: 

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  • 1 to 1.25 cups of vital wheat gluten
  • Liquid is 3/4 cup water or vegetable broth + 2 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
  • Seasonings are 3 tbsp nutritional yeast + 3 tbsp spices
  • 6 cups of vegetable broth or seasoned water to cook it in (not pictured)

For spices I’m using 1 tbsp onion powder + 1 tbsp garlic powder + 3/4 tbsp dried thyme + 1/4 tbsp ground black pepper. This gives it a more traditional meat flavor. Other ideas are powdered ginger and garlic for Asian dishes, or cumin and chili powder for Mexican dishes, etc.

Mix the seasonings and 1 cup of wheat gluten together well before adding any liquid, then add the liquid and stir/kneed until everything is incorporated into a dough. Sprinkle additional gluten into the dough as you kneed until it no longer feels too moist. Continue working the dough for a couple minutes to help the protein develop into a meaty texture. Let this sit for ten or more minutes while you prepare and heat the broth to cook it.

The broth can be any liquid that will support the flavors in the seitan. Vegetable broth is perfect. Or water with Braggs and more of the spices that you put in the dough. Some people also add chopped onion and garlic.

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I’m serving my seitan as medallions so I rolled the dough into a log and sliced it into rounds. You can do a whole loaf, or cut off small chunks for stir fry, etc.

Bring the cooking liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the seitan pieces. Let this simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. The seitan will float to the top. Remove with tongs and press out excess liquid.

Now prepare as you would with any meat. I seared my medallions with mushrooms. This is also excellent with vegan gravy.

Enjoy!

Creamy Broccolini Soup

17 Friday Feb 2012

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This hearty soup gets its wonderful cheesy flavor from blended sweet potatoes, miso and Bragg Liquid Aminos – a lower-sodium and gluten-free alternative to soy sauce that I highly recommend for every pantry.

Ingredients and Instructions:

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Sauté for 5 minutes:

  • 2 tbsp.  Grape Seed Oil
  • 4 tbsp.  Onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsp.  Garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp.  Ginger Root, minced

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Add and sauté for 5 minutes:

  • 1           Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped
  • 2 cups   Broccolini, chopped (using stems, saving florets for stir fry!)
  • ½ cup    Red Pepper, chopped

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Add and bring to boil for 10 minutes:

  • 1 cup     Water
  • 2 tbsp.   Bragg Liquid Aminos

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Remove from heat and add:

  • 2 tbsp.   Brown Miso
  • 1 cup     Water (mix in miso first for easier incorporation)

Place all in blender and blend until smooth. Serve and enjoy!

Can add for a cheesier flavor:

  • ¼ cup    Nutritional Yeast

Great Scott Minestrone Soup

17 Friday Feb 2012

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This recipe comes from my friend’s husband, Scott, who became an exceptional cook while combating boredom and the local cuisine in the Peace Corps in Bulgaria. His sacrifice, our enjoyment!

Ingredients and Instructions: 

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Sauté for 5 minutes:

  • ¼ cup   Grape Seed Oil
  • 1           Medium Onion, chopped
  • 5           Cloves Garlic, minced

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Add and sauté for 5 minutes:

  • 2           Carrots, chopped
  • 2           Celery Ribs, chopped

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Add and sauté for 5-10 minutes:

  • 1           Small Parsnip, chopped
  • 1           Small Turnip, chopped
  • ½ cup    Red Wine
  • 1 tbsp.   Dried Oregano
  • 1 tbsp.   Dried Thyme
  • 1 tbsp.   Rosemary, chopped or dry
  • 2            Bay Leaves
  • 1 tbsp.   Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 tbsp.   Kosher Salt

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Add, bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 30+ minutes until pasta is soft:

  • 1 qt.      Vegetable Broth
  • 14 oz.    Can Diced Tomatoes
  • 14 oz.    Can Diced Tomatoes, pureed
  • 14 oz.    Can Kidney Beans, rinsed
  • 14 oz.    Can White Beans, rinsed
  • 1 cup     Pasta (fusilli, bow tie, etc.)
  • ½ cup    Red Wine