Kimberly Steele's Blog, page 9

Daily Vegan Lunch for 29 October, 2013: Pot Pie

This was outstanding eaten on a cold, rainy day when I got home late from work.

PIE CRUST INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup palm-oil free vegetable shortening (cheapie safflower oil shortening) or 1/2 cup vegan butter

1 and 1/4 cups flour

Enough cold water to moisten

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons oil

1.5 cups firm tofu, drained, sliced, and patted dry with clean towel or paper towels

1.5 cups onion

2 more teaspoons oil

1 cup peas (I used frozen)

1.5 cups carrots

1.5 cups water and 2 broth cubes

1/2 cup chickpea flour or more regular flour

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon sage

DIRECTIONS:

Put a mixing bowl with 1 and 1/4 cups flour in it in the freezer.

Slice tofu and pat it dry with a clean towel or paper towels.  Cut the tofu into small cubes.  Heat oil in a pan on high heat.  Fry the tofu in oil on medium-high heat until lightly browned, set aside.

Now make the stew. Fry the onions in the bottom of a pot on medium-high heat until they are translucent. Add sage and paprika, fry 30 more seconds. Add the carrots, peas, broth cubes, and 1 cup of water. Cook until the carrots are al dente or almost fork tender.

Thicken the stew by combining the remaining 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup flour and 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast and mixing into a slurry. Dump this into the stew and stir until stew is thickens, about 1 – 2 minutes.  Taste test stew and add salt if needed.

Take the mixing bowl with flour in it out of the freezer. Add 1/2 cup vegetable shortening or vegan butter to the flour. Chop the shortening into small, pea sized pieces with a spoon or a pair of knives. Add water little by little until the mixture sticks together as a dough but is still a bit dry.

Sprinkle a few teaspoons of flour on the cutting board and rub down the rolling pin with it. Divide the dough into 2 halves. Roll the crust out to 1/4 inch thick. Use crust to line a cast iron pan like I did or a small casserole dish. Pour the stew filling into the crust. Roll out the top crust and lay it on the pie. Pinch the edges of the two crusts to seal and cut some slits on the top so your pot pie does not explode. If you have extra dough, you can use it to decorate the pie as I did.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 28 October, 2013: Red Lentil Pumpkin Curry Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon oil

1 cup red lentils

4 cups water

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup carrot, chopped

1.5 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped

1.5 cups canned pumpkin

4 additional cups water and 2 vegan broth cubes

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

4 cloves

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS:

Bring the red lentils and 4 cups of water to a boil in a pot on the stove. Turn the heat to medium and allow lentils to simmer for 20 – 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a very large pot, sauté the onion in oil at medium heat until translucent. Add carrot and potato and sauté five minutes. Add cumin, garam masala, coriander, turmeric, cloves, and garlic, sauté 30 seconds more. Douse with 4 cups additional water and broth cubes (or just add 4 cups vegetable broth). Cook until potatoes and carrots are fork tender but not mushy. Add cooked lentils and pumpkin and stir well. Add salt to taste.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 27 October, 2013: White Bean Hummus and Roasted Vegetable Pizza

I could have used store-bought hummus, I suppose. It can get expensive though as this recipe calls for 2 cups of the stuff. Considering how cheap beans are, you are better off making your own hummus, at least where this recipe is concerned.

I’m sure this would be just as good with chickpea hummus.

INGREDIENTS:

1 store bought pizza crust or pre-cooked pizza crust

1 eggplant

1 sweet red bell pepper

1 zucchini

HUMMUS INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cooked white beans, rinsed and drained

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

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

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the eggplant into small chunks, the red pepper into slices (discard the seed and the stem/core), and slice the zucchini. There is no need to skin the zucchini or the eggplant. Roast the vegetables on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Combine all hummus ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Spread the hummus on the pizza crusts and evenly top with roasted vegetables. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 425 degrees.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 26 October, 2013: White Bean and Spinach Pizza

INGREDIENTS:

1 store bought pizza crust or pre-cooked pizza crust (alternately you can use tortillas or pitas as I often do)

2 cups cooked white beans, rinsed and drained

3 cups spinach leaves

2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes and their water or oil

3 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake pizza crust by itself for 5 minutes (this is for an extra crunchy crust, you can omit this step if you like softer crust). Mix salt, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, vegan mayonnaise, and olive oil in a bowl, stir well. Spread the crust with the tomato/mayo/garlic/olive oil mixture. Evenly top the pizza with white beans and spinach leaves. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 25 October, 2013: Tomato Toasts

A very fast broiler meal or snack.

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices tomato

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 pieces of homestyle bread or baguette

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Mix oil with garlic and divide and spread the mixture on 2 slices of bread. Broil the bread for 2 minutes at 400 degrees or until bread begins to brown. Take the bread out of the oven and top them with tomato, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Broil 2 more minutes.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 24 October, 2013: Sticky Rice Cake Stir Fry

Sticky rice cakes (tteok) are also a thing in Chinese cuisine. This is based on a Chinese New Year recipe. The tteok I used are Korean but from what I hear they’re virtually the same if they are a Chinese brand.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon oil

1.5 cups firm tofu

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups cabbage, sliced

2 cups sliced bamboo shoots from a can, drained

2 cups sticky rice cakes, pre-soaked for 2 hours plus or boiled for 30 seconds in water

2 cups dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted in water for 30 minutes plus

1/4 cup soy sauce or to taste

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons vegetarian mushroom “oyster” sauce, vegan Worchestershire sauce, or salt to taste

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-soak mushrooms, drain and slice them small to prepare them for use. Set them aside. Pre-soak tteok or boil them, also set them aside. Drain and crumble tofu, chop cabbage, drain bamboo shoots, and generally prepare everything to be dumped into a large stir fry pan at once.

Heat a large stir fry pan or wok with oil in it to medium high heat. Add the tofu and a tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir fry tofu until it is slightly brown. Add each of these, waiting about a minute between each addition: cabbage, bamboo shoots, mushrooms. Lastly, add the tteok, the remaining soy sauce, sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine, and garlic. Stir well. Add the tteok. Taste test it and add vegetarian oyster sauce or salt if needed. Serve topped with green onions.

You can also omit the tteok entirely and serve the stir fry over rice.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 23 October, 2013: Spicy Chipotle Black Bean Burgers

1 tablespoon oil

1.5 cups onion, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

3 cups black beans, rinsed and drained, divided

1 tablespoon flaxseed meal

1/4 cup water

2 chipotle peppers from a can

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Fry onion and garlic in oil on medium heat until onion is translucent, set aside.

In a food processor, combine black beans, onion/garlic mixture, flaxseed meal, water, chipotles, chili powder, cumin, and breadcrumbs. Pulse until just combined.

Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir if necessary to make sure all the ingredients are completely mixed. Season with salt to taste.

Heat a pan to medium-low heat and spray with oil or use 1 additional teaspoon of oil to coat pan. Fry burgers until browned on both sides.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 22 October, 2013: Spicy Tomato Soup with Sticky Rice Cakes

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon oil

1 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 medium sized ripe tomatoes or 2 cups stewed tomatoes from a can and their juice

1 tablespoon Gochujang (spicy Korean chili paste)

1 cup almond milk

1 cup tteok (Korean sticky rice cakes) soaked overnight or boiled in water for 30 seconds

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Soak 1 cup refrigerated tteok, either the flat or cylindrical ones, in water for 2 hours or overnight. Alternately, boil them in 2 cups of water for 30 seconds. Sauté onion and garlic in oil for 2 minutes in a small pan on medium heat. Roughly chop tomatoes and put them in the blender. Add the onion/garlic mixture, gochujang, almond milk, and salt.

Blend until smoothly pureed, about 2 minutes.

Heat the soup on the stovetop or microwave and stir in tteok before serving.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 21 October, 2013: Rustic Bread Soup

Many people don’t realize most bread, including sourdough, is vegan. It’s a combination of yeast, flour, sugar and salt. Unless there’s an egg wash or a butter top, bread is as vegan as it gets.

This dish reminds me of pre-made frozen white bread dumplings my mom used to make with gravy. Like most meat dishes, it was a heavy, greasy dish. This version brings me back to all of the good things about that dish with none of the grease or heavy fat that used to stick to everything.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon oil

1.5 cups chopped onion

1.5 cups chopped celery

1.5 cups chopped carrot

1.5 cups chopped peeled potatoes

2 cups chopped red cabbage or other cabbage (I just really like red cabbage this time of year as you can probably tell)

6 cups vegetable broth (I used water, 2 broth cubes, and a pinch of salt)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon basil

2 cups pureed tomatoes (I used some late garden tomatoes puréed in the blender)

1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1-2 slices of bread per bowl, I used a crusty homestyle bread from a bakery

DIRECTIONS:

Sauté onion and cabbage in oil in the bottom of a large stockpot on medium high until translucent. Add cumin and paprika and saute 30 more seconds. Add celery, carrot, potatoes, and broth. Cook until carrots and potatoes are fork tender. Add pureed tomatoes, basil, and garlic and cook 10 – 15 more minutes. To serve, place 1-2 slices of bread in the bottom of the bowl and ladle soup over it like this:

Daily Vegan Lunch for 20 October, 2013: Apple Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

1 apple (I used a Fuji) cored, peeled, and chopped

2 teaspoons oil or vegan butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Up to 2 cups non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon additional cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons agave nectar or other liquid sweetener

Oil for frying

In a small pan, melt vegan butter or oil on medium heat. Add the chopped apple and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Simmer on medium heat about 7 minutes or until apple is tender.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon additional cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix with a spoon until well blended. Make a well in the center and oil, agave nectar or other sweetener, and 1 cup of the milk. Add the cooked apples to the batter. Stir gently until just incorporated and add more milk, up to one additional cup, until it is gloppy and soupy. It should be thick but not pourable, like this:

Don’t over-stir as this results in tough pancakes and smooshed apples.

To make pancakes, heat a griddle to medium heat and spray or coat with a little oil. If you have a good non-stick pan or a well-seasoned cast iron griddle, you will barely need any oil at all to prevent sticking. Cook until the pancake is covered with bubbles and looks like it is drying out on the edges, then flip and cook 30 more seconds.

True confessions: we ate these on a chilly evening for dinner, not lunch, with organic maple syrup and some pan-fried Tofurky kielbasa. Life is good.