Kimberly Steele's Blog, page 7

Daily Vegan Lunch for 16 November, 2013: Sausage Asado

Asado is a type of sweet-sour stew from Filipino cuisine.  They must eat a lot of meat in the Philippines because it absolutely dominates in almost every Filipino cookbook I could find.  The website VeganPinoy.com has an amazing wealth of lovely vegan-adapted Pinoy recipes.  This recipe is modified from that website.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon oil

1 cup vegan sausage, sliced, veggie chicken, or any grain meat

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 a lemon’s juice (about 2 tablespoons)

3 tablespoons cup brown sugar

1/2 cup tomato sauce

3 cups cubed potatoes

1.5 cups chunked carrots

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium sized pot, cover carrots and potatoes in water.  Cover and turn heat to high until they boil.  Uncover and boil them about 10 minutes on medium high heat until they are al dente.  How fast they reach this state depends upon how small you chop them.

In a separate pan, sauté slices of sausage in oil on medium heat until brown and then flip them over and let them brown on the other side, about 5 minutes.  Add the soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar, and tomato sauce to the pan and stir until well blended.  Drain the carrots and potatoes and add them to the pan.  Toss to coat.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 15 November, 2013: Lentil Tomato Pinto Bean Soup

This recipe makes a huge pot of soup that will last for days. Freeze it if you don’t eat it all. It is one of those soups that is good the first day and fantastic the second day.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons oil

1 onion, chopped

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dried lentils or 3 cups cooked

1 can pinto beans, about 2 cups

4 cups crushed tomatoes, I used canned

8 cups vegetable broth

1.5 cups frozen corn

1.5 cups chopped sweet red bell pepper, I used some from a jar

2 legs celery, chopped (1.5 cups)

1 cup chopped carrot

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon smoked or regular paprika, I used smoked

Hot sauce or Sriacha, to taste

2/3 cup flour, I used chickpea flour

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-cook lentils in 3 cups water a crockpot on low for 4 hours or on high for 1 hour.  Alternately, use 2 cans of pre-made store bought lentil soup.

In the bottom of a large soup pot, sauté onions and garlic on medium high heat until onions are translucent.  Add cumin, chili powder, and paprika to onions and garlic, sauté 30 more seconds.  Douse mixture with lentils and their cooking water, pinto beans, carrots, celery, corn, and all but 1 cup of the vegetable broth.  Turn on high and bring mixture to a boil.  Once it boils, bring heat down to medium-high and boil until celery is al dente, about 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes.  Add salt or additional spices at this point if needed.  Add red peppers and stir in hot sauce to taste.

Mix remaining cup of vegetable broth with flour until it is a slurry, dump into soup.  Stir until soup is thickened.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 14 November, 2013: Sweet and Sour Gardein Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 package Gardein breaded chicken strips (about 2 cups)

1.5 cups snow peas

1.5 cups bamboo shoot shreds

(alternately, use 3 cups of any sort of vegetable, such as carrots, tomato chunks, squash chunks, green peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini)

3/4 cup chopped sweet red bell pepper, I used red peppers from a jar

1.5 cups canned pineapple chunks, reserve juice

1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or rice vinegar

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch

1 tablespoon chili sauce OR 1 teaspoon tabasco or Sriacha

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake chicken strips on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Flip and cook 5 more minutes. Take strips out of oven and let them cool. Cut chicken strips into bite size pieces.

Mix brown sugar, vinegar, broth, cornstarch, and chili sauce in a small bowl.

In a large pan, heat oil until it spreads at medium high. Add vegetables and stir fry for 1 minute. Add chicken strips and red bell pepper, stir fry for 1 minute more. Add pineapple. Make a well in the center of the pan. Add vinegar mixture to the pan. Mixture will thicken in about 30 seconds. Stir thickened sauce over the faux chicken and vegetables and serve over rice.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 13 November, 2013: Barbecue Tomato Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon oil

1 cup vegan chorizo, veggie burger crumbles, or finely chopped vegan sausage (I used vegan chorizo)

2.5 cups cooked refrigerated rice

1 cup tomato, chopped

1.5 cups cabbage, chopped

1.5 cups green onions, chopped

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon vegan Worchestershire (or additional soy sauce)

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare all ingredients and set them in bowls stove-side. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pan or wok until smoking. Fry vegan chorizo first, stirring it quickly. Add cabbage next and toss around for 30 seconds. Add rice, tomato, and green onions, stir until everything is incorporated.

Turn off heat. Make a well in the center of the stir fry. Pour soy sauce, ketchup, and vegan Worchestershire into this well and then stir them through. Add salt to taste.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 12 November, 2013: Avocado Pasta

Makes 2 large servings.

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups cooked angel hair or spaghetti

1 small avocado, pitted and skinned (about 1.5 cups avocado chunks)

1/2 a lemon’s juice

1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons nutritional yeast

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare pasta according to package directions, set aside. Fork mash avocado, lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil, and nutritional yeast. Toss with pasta, top with optional pine nuts.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 11 November, 2013: Szechwan String Beans

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons oil

2 cups string beans (I used frozen organic green beans)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon mushroom oyster sauce OR 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sugar, mixed

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in a pan on high heat until it smokes. Add green beans to the pan and stir fry for about 45 seconds. Add garlic, allow it to sauté 30 more seconds. Add mushroom oyster sauce or soy sauce and sugar.

Serve with rice.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 10 November, 2013: Potato Pierogi and Red Cabbage Sauté

This is a meal for very little money. A little time consuming, however, it makes 12 giant pierogies which can later be frozen for future quick meals.

Shown with homemade cashew sour cream

PIEROGI FILLING INGREDIENTS:

3 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon oil

1.5 cup onions, chopped

PIEROGI DOUGH INGREDIENTS:

3 cups flour

1 cup water

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon salt

CABBAGE SIDE DISH INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon oil

1 cup onion, chopped

4 cups red cabbage, sliced

1 apple, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup vegetable broth

DIRECTIONS:

Peel and chop the potatoes. Boil them in water on the stove for 20 minutes or until they are fork-tender. Drain and set aside.

In the pot you cooked the potatoes in, sauté onions in 1 tablespoon oil until they are translucent on medium heat. Add the potatoes and the salt. Fork mash or use a beater to mash the potatoes. We will not be adding any plant milk as they need to be somewhat on the dry side to make a good pierogi filling.

Now make the dough. Combine 3 cups flour, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon oil, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Knead the ingredients into a dough ball. Knead for about 5 minutes, working the ball to bring out the gluten. Divide the ball in half and roll out 1 side to 1/4 inch thick.

Cut out circles in the dough using a small bowl turned upside down as your cutter. This makes a large pierogi like I made. For smaller ones, use the rim of a glass.

Stuff each pierogi with 1 heaping tablespoon potato mash. Seal the dumpling on the circular seam.

Boil the pierogi in water about 5 minutes.

CABBAGE SIDE DISH DIRECTIONS:

Peel and chop apples. In a pan, fry onions on medium high heat in 1 teaspoon oil until they are translucent. Add red cabbage and apple. Stir-fry about 2 minutes. Douse with broth and add sugar. Cover and cook 5 more minutes.

Daily Vegan Lunch for November 9, 2013: Veggie Chicken and Mushroom Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon oil

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in 1.5 cups water (save soaking water)

1 package frozen vegan chicken tenders

1.5 cup green onions, minced

2 cups bamboo shoots from a can, sliced thin and drained

2 cups snow peas

1 tablespoon mushroom “oyster” sauce or soy sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese wine or dry sherry

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

Saved mushroom soaking water

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder

1 teaspoon sesame seed oil (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Soak the mushrooms for 20 minutes to overnight. Slice them and save the soaking water for later use in the sauce.

Bake the chicken tenders at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Flip, bake 5 minutes more. Cut them into chunks. Set them aside.

Chop and set aside these ingredients: mushrooms, chicken tenders, bamboo shoots. Wash and set aside snow peas.

Mix sauce by combining veg-oyster or soy sauce, dry sherry, garlic, mushroom water, sugar, and cornstarch in a small bowl.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan on the highest heat possible until it smokes. Add ingredients roughly according to this order, waiting about 30 seconds between each one and stirring while you cook: snow peas, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms. Add the veggie chicken and green onions. Toss. Turn off the heat and add the sauce. Stir and the sauce will thicken around the ingredients. Sprinkle with optional sesame seed oil. Serve with rice.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 8 November, 2013: Spicy Spaghetti with Spinach and Pinto Beans

INGREDIENTS:

5 cups cooked angel hair pasta

1 teaspoon oil (optional)

1 tablespoon chili sauce

1 cup pinto beans, drained

2 tablespoons prepared spaghetti sauce

3/4 cup vegetable broth

3 cups spinach leaves

1 cup sliced black olives

2 cloves garlic, minced

Pine nuts, to serve

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, set aside. In a frying pan on medium heat, heat oil and briefly fry garlic, about 30 seconds. Add pinto beans, chili sauce, spaghetti sauce, and vegetable broth. Heat through, about 2 minutes. Add spinach leaves and black olives and cook until spinach wilts. Serve on angel hair pasta. I sprinkled it with pine nuts as you can see.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 7 November, 2013: Taco Casserole

I made this for my How Do We Get A Vegan Restaurant in Naperville informal potluck. It was a big hit.

1 bag of corn chips (I also used some regular corn tortillas briefly fried in oil)

1 large tomato, chopped or 1.5 cups

1.5 cups black olives, sliced

1.5 cups onion

Bean stew

Cashew-oat nacho cheez

FOR THE BEAN STEW LAYER:

About 2 cups black, kidney, pinto, or chili beans from a can, not drained

1.5 cups vegetable broth or V8

1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons taco seasoning

FOR THE CASHEW OAT NACHO CHEEZ LAYER:

3/4 cups cashew pieces

1/4 cup raw onion

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/2 a lemon’s juice

1 cup oats

2 cups water

1 roasted red bell pepper

2 teaspoons taco seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare the nacho cheez: combine all nacho cheez ingredients in a high speed blender OR if you don’t have a high speed blender, use cashew butter instead of cashew pieces and pre-cook oats in water in microwave for 2 minutes, then combine and blend in normal blender.

For the bean stew, combine beans and onions in a small pan with taco seasoning. Fry until onions are translucent and taco seasoning is fragrant. Mix broth with 1/4 cup flour. Pour over bean mixture and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Grease a casserole dish or dishes by wiping with olive oil. Layer chips, nacho cheese, bean stew, onions, olives, and tomatoes in one large casserole dish or two small ones, I used my big 13 x 9 casserole. How many layers depends on how thin you spread each one. I ended up with 3 layers of chips, 2 layers of beans, and 2 layers of nacho cheez. It’s not an exact science.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Pour 1.5 cups of veggie broth or V8 into the casserole and bake for 20 more minutes.