The 1st of Veganuary!

In November I celebrated my 5th year as a vegetarian! But did I celebrate... no. Honestly, I probably didn't even cook. I've had a BAD case of kitchen burn out. Where the thought of even walking near your stove makes you want to groan and fall to the ground in full "boneless" toddler meltdown style. 

You know what kitchen burn out leads to... junk food, fast food, just total crap typically. And this really has to stop. I'm staring down the barrel of 40 this year and I need some changes. So I decided to kick off 2015 by joining Veganuary! Veganuary is pretty much what it sounds like... being vegan, in January. 

You should absolutely go to the website and read about the origin, the reasons why you might want to join in, and TONS of helpful links, tips, and recipes. Find them on Twitter @WeAreVeganuary and visit and like their Facebook page Veganuary

So I'm going to resurrect this sadly long dead blog and chronicle my adventures. My highs and lows. 

My first recipe is from Yup, It's Vegan. Her recipe is super easy to follow, it comes together fast so it's perfect even for busy nights. 

One Pot Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca with Chickpeas & Artichoke

Just throw everything in the pot, just like she tells you. The 1/2 tsp. of pepper flakes give it a kick, be sure to adjust it to your preference. 

 

Right after it finished, just give it a quick toss to fully stir everything around.

And, you are ready to eat! Seriously, no meat or dairy needed. It's crazy good. 

If you decide to try Veganuary, it's not too late. Don't let one day stop you.  If you like spaghetti squash come back tomorrow for Day 2!!

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Vegan Crockpot Potato Soup

Photo: Dinners for a Year and Beyond

I used the recipe from Dinners For A Year and Beyond and tweaked it to make it vegan.

Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup

makes 2 1/2 quarts

6 large potatoes, peeled and diced (I don't peel, I like the skins in my soup, just rinse really well)
1 large onion, chopped
5 cups of chicken stock (I used organic, vegetable broth)
1 (15-ounce) can evaporated milk ( I used about 1 cup of rice milk)
1/4 cup butter (I used 1/4 cup vegan butter)
salt
pepper
extra broth to thin soup to your liking

Place potatoes, onions, and broth/stock in a crock pot. Cook on low for 9 hours (I cooked it on high for about 6 hours). After the cooking time, mash potatoes with a potato masher (I used a stick blender) and add evaporated milk and butter. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top as desired.

Note: After the soup is refrigerated, it can become quite thick. Keep some extra stock on hand to thin out soup if you so choose.

Review: 3 thumbs up. Hubby wanted to add bacon bits to it (none in the house) but otherwise liked it. One kidlet wasn't too sure about it since she had never had creamy soup before (I know, bad mommy) but she really liked it. Other kidlet didn't like it at all. I really liked it. It was easy to make, made the house smell yummy while it was cooking and was very filling and warm on a very chilly night.

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Sushi for Noobs

I'm the only person in the world that has never had sushi... See even before going veg I hated fish. I mean LOATHED. Fish is fishy and just gross. So the thought of walking into a restaurant and being surrounded by raw fish and other oddities never appealed to me.

Of course I did realize that there are non fishy versions but just never bothered to make the effort. So last night we tried out hand at sushi. It was fine.. really rice and veggies how bad can it be. As rarely as I eat any sort of asian-ish dish I do love the accoutrements ... chopsticks, cute little bowls, etc. LOVE!

There really isn't a recipe here because you really don't need one, nori/rice/veggies..roll!
And man, they are not kidding about the sticky rice. It's sticky! Have a dish of cold water for your hands to help with the sticking.

~Venus

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Chickpea Cutlets

Isa Chandra Moskowitz is a food goddess, seriously. Try this recipe and I bet you will agree with me!

Last week we made the chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon and they were so good. Had the oil a bit high so they got a bit burntish in spots but that is an easy fix. You can bake them too if you wish.

This is THE recipe to serve to your omni friends/family, you know the ones that are convinced you eat nothing but lettuce all day and your bones are just going to turn to dust. It has a fried pork chopish quality to it. Super tasty and really pretty easy to whip up. They are obviously great as a main course but would be fabu sandwiches too.

I don't have to even type up the recipe because it's on Isa's site. Woot!  Go HERE for the noms!

~Venus

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Vegan Pasta

I've made pasta from scratch before, about 12 years ago. I was hungry for pasta but had none in the pantry. I had all the ingredients, except for eggs, so I searched out a vegan alternative. I don't have a nice Kitchen-Aid mixer or pasta machine, so I did everything by hand. Here is the recipe:


1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups water
1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt
if you are making filled pasta, you can add 1 tsp oil to the mix.

Mix flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add water and oil. Blend with a fork till dough clumps start to form. Then dump out onto counter sprinkled with flour and start to knead the dough. This process might take 5-7 minutes (maybe longer) by hand. Then I split the dough into two and worked with one half at a time.




Rough the dough out as flat as you can. I tried, but it wasn't as thin as I'd like it to be.




Then take a pizza cutter and cut the strips of pasta out of the rolled dough. Don't make them too thin or they will break when drying. If you make them too thick it will take longer to dry and cook later.




Hang the strips to dry. You can do this over a kitchen towel over a cabinet door or back of a chair. If you have a nifty folding clothes drying rack, that will work well too. Repeat with your second half of dough. Allow them to dry. The recipe I had says 20-30 minutes, but my pasta wasn't rolled thin by a machine so I just let it hang in the kitchen till it was time for dinner (about 5 hours after I made it) and some pieces were still a bit moist.



At this point you can cook it in boiling water. The recipe said 2-3 minutes. Again, my pasta was thicker so it was more like 5-6 minutes just to make sure it was cooked through. If you want to make this ahead, dry it and then store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze it. I choose to mix it with my favorite jarred vegan pasta sauce and added a bit of parmesan cheese (I know it's not vegan, you can add your favorite vegan cheese, or none at all)




Review: Yum! The only complaint was that I didn't make enough. My youngest usually doesn't eat sauce on her noodles - just cheese and butter, but she ate it tonight. I guess I will be making this again real soon!

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Cabbage Roll Casserole

The original form of this recipe is obviously rolls.. but small cabbage heads + chef laziness = casserole!


This is NOT a pretty meal, or a fancy meal. But it is an easy meal and it's fairly tasty.


You need:


cabbage
spanish style rice mix ( I just used yellow rice)
red bell pepper
onion
stewed tomatoes ( i used 2 cans and squished the chunks)
can of tom. soup
water
veggie meat like pepperoni or ham. I used soyrizo. obviously if you are a meat eater you can use any real meat you want.


Cook rice according to directions but use the tomato instead of water. I found it had to cook twice as long so honestly I think I'd just use water next time and possibly omit the tom soup using instead the stewed tomatoes to add extra liquid to the casserole.


dice up all veggies, cook veggies and any meat. add to rice.  Mix rice with cabbage bits (these were chopped earlier with your other veggies), mix well. This is where you use the tom soup + water to add extra liquid to the casserole (and where I will try to use the stewed tom next time.


cover with foil and bake at 350 for an hour.


It was good, not great. it was missing something but I'm not sure what yet. Everyone ate it and said it was ok but they wouldn't request it again though if I made it they would eat it and not whine. I think I might add in some veggie broth next time. If you try this let me know what tweaks you make and how it turns out.


Ok, here is your photo but I find casseroles pretty ugly so...  lol

~Venus

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Peppers: Stuffed with a Vengeance

This recipe came from the Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook and it was nothing short of awesome, seriously.

Black Bean, Mushroom, & Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups finely chopped fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup quinoa
4 large red bell peppers
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onions in olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add garlic and mushrooms; sauté about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their moisture. Stir in the chili powder and salt. Add the quinoa and 1 cup of the tomato sauce (reserve the rest) and the water; lower the heat and cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring once.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350º F (175° C), and prepare the peppers. Boil a pot of water. Cut the tops off the pepper and remove the seeds. Boil the peppers for 5 minutes, and then drain them.

Combine the beans and maple syrup with the cooked quinoa mixture. Stuff each pepper with the filling, and stand them upright in a baking dish. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the peppers, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with cilantro, and serve.

missing the maple syrup in the pic but I did use it in the recipe. I sub'd couscous for the quinoa.

onions, garlic and mushroom action

post tomato sauce addition

beans all mixed in and happy

pepper boil

do NOT be dumb enough to boil a pepper that is still wearing a sticker

The recipe is vegan but we added a bit of cheese. Now I love cheese but to be honest this recipe did not need any. Really it was so good that cheese didn't actually increase the yum factor.

Viola! 

~Venus

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Meatless Monday - My favorite chili recipe

It's adapted from Rachel Ray. The addition of beer really makes it special but it is just as good without it. Enjoy.

Vegetarian 3-Bean Chili
Serves 4-6

2 tsp canola oil, just enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pan OR canola spray
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, carefully diced and seeded
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup pale ale or beer, cheap stuff is fine OR 1 cup vegetable broth
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
15 ounce can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted is recommended)
15 ounce can black beans, drained but not rinsed
16 ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained but not rinsed
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2-3 Tbsp good quality chili powder
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 cup vegetarian refried beans (a half a can or so)
1/2 tsp salt, or season to taste

Heat oil in medium soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and bell peppers and saute for 10 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add jalapenos and garlic and saute for a few minutes more. Deglaze pan with beer or broth. Add tomatoes, beans, cumin, chili powder, and Tabasco sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Add refried beans, and stir to combine. Taste for salt, and add more if needed. Simmer on low for another 10 minutes, and serve with your favorite toppings. I like avocado and crumbled tortilla chips.

This is vegan if no cheese is used as a topping, and can be gluten-free if using a gluten-free beer or vegetable broth.

-Empress

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Tropical black beans with mango sauce to brighten up a gray day

This is my attempt to loosely copycat Kashi's frozen dinner of the same name. Let me warn you, I haven't tried it so this is totally my own interpretation of the ingredients.

Speaking of ingredients...here they are.



And the finished product.



I used Trader Joe's Harvest Grain blend to serve the beans over as a sub for the Kashi grain pilaf, and I don't think I will use it again. It didn't cook evenly, the couscous was mushy and the baby garbanzos were almost raw, and it was bland. I also attempted to chop all the vegetables in the food processor, but I over-processed them so all the lovely red bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic, and onion was very, very finely minced. Next time I will rough chop the red bell pepper, and finely mince (separately!) everything else. For the sake of ease, I didn't add too many different vegetables and roast or grill them like in the Kashi meal. And I added a wee bit too much allspice.

Enough of the bad stuff, how did it taste? It was AWESOME. It was so good, I am looking forward to leftovers tomorrow for lunch. It was smoky, spicy, and the mango sauce was just a perfect compliment to it. I am going to make this again, and as this blog as my witness I will perfect the recipe. And find a better grain for it, too. Maybe coconut rice. But for those unwilling to wait for a perfect recipe, I will post one now.

Black Beans with Mango Sauce
Serves 4

Mango Sauce
• 1 1/2 cups frozen (or fresh) mango chunks, thawed and 1/2 cup reserved for garnish

• juice of 1 lime

Black Beans
• canola oil spray or 1 Tbsp canola oil

• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped finely

• 1 jalapeno, minced with seeds removed (wash your hands very well after working with the jalapenos or wear gloves, and do not under any circumstances decide to rub your eyes or change out your contacts for a couple of hours. It hurts. Trust me.)

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 red bell pepper, chopped

• 1/2 Tbsp minced ginger

• scant 1/4 tsp ground allspice (I used 1/2 tsp and it was a little strong)

• 1/2 tsp dried thyme (I think fresh thyme would really brighten up the flavor, maybe a 1/2 Tbsp fresh minced?)

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 2 15 ounce cans of black beans drained but not rinsed, or 3 cups cooked black beans

• 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water

• 1/4 tsp liquid smoke

• salt to taste (start with 1/2 tsp)

• juice of 1 lime

Mango Sauce: Puree mangos in a blender until smooth. Add juice of 1 lime, and pulse to combine. It should be thick but thin enough to pour from a spoon. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate while you prepare beans. Dice 1/2 cup reserved mango chunks for garnish and store in refrigerator along with sauce.

Black Beans: Saute onion, jalapeno, garlic, and bell pepper over medium heat in a skillet sprayed with canola oil or with 1 Tbsp canola oil until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add in ginger and cook another minute. Add in allspice, thyme, and cayenne and cook for another minute so spices can mingle and get nice and fragrant. Add black beans, vegetable broth, and liquid smoke. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, and if you'd like more cayenne. When done, turn off heat and add lime juice.

Serve over your favorite grain. On top of beans add 1-2 Tbsp of mango sauce in a nice drizzle, and garnish with diced mango. Enjoy!

-Empress

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