Kimberly Steele's Blog, page 10

Daily Vegan Lunch for 19 October, 2013: Black Lentil, Potato, and Spinach Stew

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup black or brown lentils

3 cups of water

1 tablespoon oil

2 cups chopped onion

2 cups potatoes, peeled and chunked

2 cups additional water

3 cups fresh spinach leaves (or use 1.5 cups frozen spinach)

1 heaping tablespoon fresh minced garlic

2.5 cups pureed tomatoes (I used tomatoes from the garden and put them in the food processor for 45 seconds)

SPICES:

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

Salt to taste

In a small pot or pan, combine lentils and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer on medium heat. Cook uncovered until lentils soak up all the water.

Fry onion in the bottom of a large soup pot on medium-high heat until translucent. Turn heat down to low. Add spices and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Bring heat back up to high. Add potatoes and 2 cups additional water and boil until potatoes are tender and 1 cup of the water is boiled off. Add spinach, garlic, and puréed tomatoes and cook until spinach wilts, about 5 minutes.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 18 October, 2013: Black Rice, Tofu, and Red Cabbage

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cooked black rice

1/2 avocado (about 1 cup) peeled, pitted, and chunked

1 cup peeled, chopped cucumber

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped red cabbage

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

2 teaspoons oil

1.5 cups firm tofu

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:

Slice tofu and pat the slices dry with a clean towel or paper towels. In a small pan, bring oil near to smoking (medium-high). Cut tofu into cubes and sprinkle them with cumin and garlic salt. Fry the tofu in the hot oil until slightly brown on all sides.

Combine black rice, avocado, cucumber, onion, red cabbage, additional 1/2 teaspoon cumin, vinegar, and sugar (optional) in a medium sized bowl. Add cooked tofu and toss to combine all ingredients.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 17 October, 2013: Tofu and Jackfruit Creamy Seafood Chowder

Jackfruit reminds me of seafood, specifically crabmeat, more than anything else. That’s why I used it to sub for crabmeat in sushi in this recipe from a few days ago. It’s a texture thing — young jackfruit has a texture that is disturbingly chicken-y/crabmeat-y. Nevertheless, this recipe is just as good with the jackfruit omitted.

This would be a nice soup for people who cannot or won’t eat seafood. It is easily made gluten-free by using non-wheat flour as a thickener.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon oil

1.5 cups chopped onion

1 cup carrots, chopped

1.5 cups celery, chopped

1 teaspoon nori flakes or kombu powder (grind any dried seaweed, I used kombu squares, to a powder in a food processor and use as salty seasoning)

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1/2 teaspoon celery salt

2 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cup young jackfruit, shredded (optional)

2 cups firm tofu, crumbled by hand

8 cups vegetable broth (I use broth cubes and water)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons flour (I used chickpea or gram flour to make this gluten-free)

DIRECTIONS:

Sauté the onion in oil in the bottom of a large soup pot on medium high heat until translucent. Add kombu powder and Old Bay seasoning, carrots, and celery and sauté 3 more minutes. Add broth, potatoes, jackfruit, and tofu. Bring to a boil and as soon as it boils, turn heat down to medium and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes or more (depends on how big your potato and carrot chunks are) until potatoes and carrots are tender. Scoop out 2 cups of soup into a blender and food processor. Add 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and 2 tablespoons of flour to the blender soup. Blend until it is a smooth purée and pour back into the large pot of soup. Stir until soup thickens, about 2 minutes.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 16 October, 2013: Fat-Free Jackfruit and Cucumber Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 cups jackfruit chunks (I used a fresh one that I sliced up and boiled in water for 10 minutes, you can also buy it in tins, make sure to get water-packed and not in sweet syrup)

1 cup chopped, seeded cucumber, do not skin

1 tablespoon chopped green onions

1/2 cup shredded or julienned carrots

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (or 1 half teaspoon paprika and 1/2 teaspoon celery salt)

Additional salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a blender or food processor, combine the jackfruit, Old Bay seasoning, and salt. Pulse a few times until just barely chopped. Transfer the jackfruit mixture to a small bowl and combine with cucumber, carrots, and green onion.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 15 October, 2013: Jackfruit Crab-meat Salad Sushi Rolls

I was actually shocked to find there were no jackfruit crabmeat sushi recipes online yet. As far as I know, I am the first to attempt a jackfruit sushi maki. Jackfruit, which is often used for vegan pulled pork, reminded me way more of crabmeat the first time I worked with it. I don’t miss seafood so much anymore, however, these rolls are very seafood-like. They’re very much like the sushi rolls with imitation crabmeat in spicy mayonnaise so popular in American sushi restaurants.

INGREDIENTS FOR 2 ROLLS:

About 3.5 cups cooked sushi rice

2 nori sheets

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

1 cup boiled jackfruit (I was able to find a fresh one) or jackfruit from a can (get it in brine, not syrup)

1 tablespoon vegan cream cheese

2 teaspoons chili sauce or Sriacha

1 teaspoon dulse flakes or ground up kombu (or any seaweed powder)

Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Make the crabmeat salad by boiling peeled, seeded jackfruit chunks for 10 minutes. Alternately, buy prepared jackfruit in brine. Strain the jackfruit and allow to cool if you boiled it. Fork mash the cooled jackfruit and place the jackfruit in between 3 or 4 paper towels. Roll the jackfruit in the paper towels to get the moisture out. This is an important step if you want to make it into sushi maki because otherwise the salad makes everything too wet to roll.

Transfer the dry chunks of jackfruit to a food processor with onion, cream cheese, chili sauce, and seaweed flakes or powder. Pulse until jackfruit is smaller but do not completely puree. Transfer the jackfruit crab salad to a small bowl.

Mix vinegar and sugar together and microwave for 30 seconds so sugar dissolves. Add vinegar/sugar to cooked sushi rice, mix until incorporated.

On a clean surface, make inside out rolls (video link coming soon).

Roll in sesame seeds and cut with a serrated knife.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 14 October, 2013: Yuba Rice With Peas and Corn

INGREDIENTS:

5 cups cooked sushi rice

1.5 cups chopped onion

2 teaspoons oil

2 cups yuba, soaked in 2 cups vegetable broth (save broth for final dish)

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 can mild diced green chiles

DIRECTIONS:

Soak yuba in broth for at least 20 minutes. Do not drain broth, just leave it in there with the yuba. Rinse and pre-cook rice according to package directions. Sauté the onion in a large pan or pot in oil until translucent on medium high heat. Add the rice and add the yuba/broth mixture. This will soak the rice and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add peas and corn and cook until heated through. Add basil, diced green chiles, and salt to taste.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 13 October, 2013: Sushi Maki With Cooked Fillings

INGREDIENTS:

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1.5 cups spinach leaves

1 cup maitake or oyster mushrooms

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon oil

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

4 cups cooked sushi rice (I used Botan calrose rise)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

3 nori sheets

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS: Rinse and cook sushi rice according to package directions. Mix vinegar and sugar in a small bowl and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave until sugar dissolves. Dump the vinegar mixture into sushi rice and stir. Taste and add salt if needed.

Oil a large pan and bring to medium heat. Sauté carrots, mushrooms, and spinach on 3 different sides of the pan. Keep them separate and add water a teaspoon at a time to the spinach pile until the spinach pile wilts. Once it does, take the spinach out. The mushrooms, now slightly browned, can be taken out. The carrots will soften in about 5 minutes. Take them out before they lose too much firmness.

Roast the sesame seeds by putting them in a small, dry pan (no oil) at medium heat. In about 5 minutes, they will start becoming golden-brown. Take them off the heat as soon as they start browning noticeably. Set aside.

Make the rolls. Place nori sheet shiny side down on a clean, dry surface. Start by spreading about 1.5 cups rice evenly across a nori sheet. Next, lay a strip of carrots, mushrooms, and spinach about 1/4 of the way in to the nori. Sprinkle with a big pinch of roasted sesame seed. Roll the fillings into the roll. Some people use a mat for this but I do not. Set the roll seam side down on a clean surface. Once you have finished rolling all three rolls, cut them into bite sized pieces with a serrated knife.

Heat

Daily Vegan Lunch for 12 October, 2013: Creamy Spinach and Potato Curry

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

2 teaspoons oil

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon oil

2 cups onion, chopped

3 cups frozen organic spinach

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon coriander

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup vegan cream cheese (I used my own made of cashews and almond yogurt)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat the peeled potato cubes in 2 teaspoons of oil and sprinkle with spices in a baking pan. Toss them to coat. Put into the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, toss the potatoes and cook for 20 more minutes.

In a large pot, fry the 2 cups chopped onion in 1 tablespoon of oil on medium-high heat until onions are translucent. Add the additional teaspoon cumin, garam masala, turmeric, and coriander. Toss for about one minute until spices are fragrant. Add the spinach and vegetables broth to the pot and cook it until the spinach thaws and is heated through, up to 20 minutes. Add the garlic and the cream cheese. Stir until cream cheese is incorporated. Lastly, add the cooked potatoes to the resulting stew. Serve with rice.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 11 October, 2013: Crockpot Minestrone

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons oil

2 cups chopped onion

1 tablespoon fresh garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1.5 cups chopped celery

1.5 cups chopped carrot

2 cups cooked chickpeas (drained)

2 cups crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon basil

6 cups water

2 veggie broth cubes

1 cup uncooked macaroni

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients except macaroni in a crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Add macaroni during last 20 minutes of cooking, simply dump it in and turn crockpot to “High” setting.

Alternately, cook soup on the stovetop by cooking onion first in the oil on medium-high heat for about five minutes. Add all ingredients except macaroni and let it simmer on medium high for 45 minutes. Add the macaroni and cook about 10 more minutes or until the macaroni is al dente.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 10 October, 2013: Peanut Fried Brown Rice

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1.5 cup peanuts

2 green onions, minced

1 carrot, chopped small

1 cup frozen peas

5 – 6 cups cooked brown rice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-cook chopped carrot and peas in a small bowl by covering the carrots and peas with water and microwaving 2 minutes or by boiling the carrots and peas in water for 2 minutes in a small pan on the stove top. Strain, set aside.

Set all ingredients within easy reach of the stove. Heat a large fry pan to high heat with one tablespoon of oil. When the oil smokes, add the peanuts. Quickly toss the peanuts (so they don’t burn) for 30 seconds. Add the carrots and peas, onions, and rice. Stir to coat the mixture with oil and distribute the ingredients. Add the soy sauce, stir and take off of heat.