vegan

Rice & Beans

Rice & Beans

Cook a cup a rice per instructions; if white, rinse until water runs clear, cover with twice as much water as there is rice and out on high on the stove uncovered. Once it boils turn it down to medium and put the cover on half way. Once you see craters forming turn it down to low, put the stove on low and cover it for 10-15 minutes until done.

While that is on chop & fry a small onion, half a pepper, 2 cloves of minced garlic and a small fresh chili. I fry mine in red wine to avoid the oil.

Once those are getting soft add in a can of chopped tomatoes and a can of drained and rinsed kidney beans. At this point I added in a few thinly sliced leaves of chard, just because I had some from my veg box and it makes this super easy dish that much healthier.

When the rice is done mix that in along with a teaspoon each:

  • cumin
  • cayenne pepper
  • salt
  • pepper
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder

Serve with some fresh avocado, salsa or coriander.

 

, , , , , , , ,

Almond Miso Tofu

Almond Miso Tofu

Get your week started right with an almond miso tofu stir fry – served over rice served with a side salad.

I like to do a dish like this when I’ve got rice left over – just pop the rice into the oven on 150 when you start everything else, sprinkle a little water on it to keep it moist.

Side salad consists of whatever is left in the fridge – in this case, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pear & coriander with a little sesame oil, lemon juice & pepper to dress it.

For the almond miso tofu first dry fry the tofu in a tefal pan. I slice mine into thing triangle piece and brown on each side.

Toast a handful of sliced almonds in the oven.

In a large bowl whisk together:

  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons miso paste
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce

Sprinkle sesame seeds on tofu, add in almonds and a spring onion cut into small pieces. Pour mixture over tofu and heat through. Serve tofu over rice with salad on the side.

 

, , , , , , ,

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burger

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burger

I like to mix it up with the veggie burgers so I don’t get bored. This one is super easy & really tasty. You can freeze them for later use as well.

To make 4 burgers:

Steam 1 large sweet potato & 1/2 an onion (both cut into small pieces)

Dump those into a large mixing bowl & add in:

  • 1 can black beans drained & rinsed
  • 1/2c oats (broken into smaller pieces in the food processor)
  • 1 clove fresh garlic crushed
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • sprinkle salt & pepper
  • handful torn fresh coriander (optional)

Mash it all up with a potato masher then use your hands to form patties, I dredge the outside of the patties in polenta (corn meal, semolina etc) to keep them from sticking together and to whatever you have them in/on.

Cook them on the grill and serve up in a roll with some fried onions, lettuce & tomato!

 

 

, , , , , , , ,

Banana Almond breakfast smoothie

A quick & healthy breakfast on this hot summer day!

Makes 2 large smoothies:

Blend one ice tray in food processor or blender until smooth.

Add in 1c almonds & blend.

Add in 3 bananas & blend (I keep them in chunks in the freezer to make it more like a milkshake – just take them out about 15 minutes before use or run under warm water).

Add in while blending:

1c non dairy milk
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 tablespoon flax seed

Optional:
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup

Serve immediately. Really filling and a great start to a sunny day – enjoy!

20130707-124857.jpg

, , , , , , ,

Portobello Caesar Salad

Portobello Caesar Salad

I love a good caesar salad and as I do vegan +fish I keep the anchovies in the dressing. For a vegan version replace the anchovies with capers and the mayonnaise with a vegan substitute.

Put your portobello mushrooms in the oven on 180 for about a half an hour, one per person. A splash of olive oil will keep them nice & juicy but since I don’t cook with oil I mix up a cup of half water & half melon juice and sprinkle it on to keep them from drying out.

If you’re making your own croutons do those now too – I just keep a baguette that is getting hard in a paper bag and hack bits off as needed. Cut a garlic clove in half and rub it on the bread pieces, sprinkle some mixed Italian herbs on and toast in the oven for 7-10 minutes.

In the food processor mix 1 cup of cashews, 1 clove of garlic and 1 teaspoon salt until it’s all small crumbly bits. Vegan parmesan cheese done! Dump this into a container to be sprinkled onto the salad later – you can keep any leftover in the fridge for 7-10 days.

You don’t even need to rinse out the food processor because you’ll be putting some vegan parmesan in the dressing anyway. Put in 4 anchovy fillets & 1 clove of garlic and blitz until combined. With the food processor still going pour in 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, & 3 tablespoons water.

Now slice your mushrooms and pour a little dressing on them, stir them around and leave off to the side until you’re ready.

For the salad I use romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion & cucumber. Throw in the mushrooms, croutons, and a tablespoon of vegan parmesan & dressing per person and toss it all up. Sprinkle a little fresh black pepper on each plate & dinner is served!

 

 

 

, , , , ,

Asparagus Risotto for Meatless Monday

Asparagus Risotto for Meatless Monday

With the first crops of asparagus gracing our veg boxes in the UK this is timely, tasty, and just right for the not quite summer weather we’ve been getting.

I always found with asparagus risotto the end bits can tend to be a bit chewy or woody so for this one what I’ve done is pureed the end bits and only put the tips in whole. What a result! Really flavourful! I hardly had to use any stock at all.

I used 1c risotto rice and 1 bunch asparagus which was enough to feed 2 with a little leftover.

Start by steaming the asparagus until they’re just tender (keep the water). Plunge them directly into cold water after. Cut the tips off and leave them off to the side to be mixed into the risotto at the end. Put the rest of the asparagus into the food processor. Add in a ladle of the water they were cooked in and some garlic – I used green garlic this time because it was also in my veg box but normal works just as well. Puree until smooth.

In a big bowl combine the asparagus puree and some of the water used to boil the asparagus – you need to have 4 times as much liquid as you do rice – and might need a little extra so if there’s more asparagus water leave it to the side instead of dumping it. You can also add in a little vegetable stock – normally for risotto it’s all stock but between the flavour from the asparagus water and puree you really don’t need much – I used only about a tablespoon.

Here’s a photo of the stock, water, puree mixture with a little fresh ground pepper.

photo

Now start the rice in a pot on medium low heat. Usually you start it with a little olive oil or butter but I’m vegan and don’t cook with oil so I used dry sherry (you can also use white wine) – the only difference is you really have to vigilante with the constant stirring so it doesn’t stick. It only needs a minute or too before you start adding your stock puree mixture in. Add it in 1 ladle at a time, stirring continuously, until it’s almost all absorbed, then add other ladle of liquid, repeating until the liquid is all gone and the rice is cooked al dente. If you run out of liquid before the rice is done just make a little more stock.

Once it’s about done just add the asparagus tips back in and serve.

, , , , , , ,

gnocchi with roasted butternut squash & sweet vegan pesto

gnocchi with roasted butternut squash & sweet vegan pesto

I peeled, cored and cut up a whole butternut squash. Then tossed it with a sliced onion, a big handful of fresh sage & a generous splash of dry sherry, plus salt & pepper to taste and just a dash of nutmeg or mixed baking spice. Then roasted it in the oven for 45 minutes on 180. Be sure to stir it around and maybe add a bit more sherry if it starts to dry out.

CameraBag_Photo_1004

In the meantime, put your water on to boil and cook up your gnocchi – I prefer to buy the fresh ones even if I freeze them before eating, they still seem to have a fluffier consistency that dried ones.

To make the pesto start with what I call the “vegan parmesan”

Combine in a food processor:

  • 1/2 c cashews
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp salt

Mix until it looks like small crumbly bits of parmesan, the kind you can buy on the shelf to shake on your pasta. If you make extra you can keep this in your fridge for 7-10 days.

Dump that into a large serving bowl and add in:

  • 1/2 c fresh sage
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons dry sherry
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil (I’m sure you could easily use olive oil but the pumpkin seed does add some depth if you have it)
  • splash of balsamic vinegar
  • salt & pepper
  • dash of nutmeg or mixed baking spice
  • dash of dried chilli flakes

Mix it all around and let set until the rest is ready.

CameraBag_Photo_1003

Just dump in the roasted veg from the oven and the strained gnocchi from the stove and mix it all up and serve in pasta bowls with a bit more “parmesan” on top. A warm spiced hug of a meal.

CameraBag_Photo_1005

, , , , , ,

Meatless Monday Mexican Spinach Salad

Meatless Monday Mexican Spinach Salad

After a big weekend nothing feels better on a Monday than fresh salad!

This one is super quick because I use smoked tofu so it doesn’t take any prep work at all, just cube it up and toss it on top!

If you can’t find or don’t like smoked tofu you can use regular, just dry fry the pieces in a tefal pan and toss them in the dressing mix.

The dressing mix is basically a pico de gallo +

Either finely chop by hand or blitz in a food processor:

Red onion
Jalapeño
Tomato
Coriander

Add in black beans, chunks of mango & avocado, salt & lemon juice.

This makes a great dip with tortilla chips & keeps in the fridge for about a week so don’t be afraid to make extra.

Toss your pico + with fresh washed spinach & serve with tofu on top.

, , , , , , ,

Meatless Monday

This is a real easy one for those rough Mondays after a big weekend! Buy the ready made polenta to make it even easier. Slice the polenta into fries and cook at 180 for 25 minutes. Serve with tomato dipping sauce – I like the one that’s meant for pizza sauce. Great as a snack but add a little spinach, tomato, avocado salad on the side and you’re got a whole meal.

20130513-151026.jpg

, , , , , , ,

Meatless Monday Recipe – Vegan “Quiche”

Meatless Monday Recipe – Vegan “Quiche”

This is a super easy and versatile recipe that can be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Keep some polenta on hand and you can just throw in whatever vegetables you have. It’s all in the flavour of the broth.

  • First prep your vegetables, I sauteed a leek, mushrooms and swiss rainbow chard.
  • Next bring 800g vegetable broth to a boil. Add some spices to it, I used a tsp each; mixed italian herbs, smoked paprika & cayenne pepper as well as a little salt & pepper.
  • Once it’s boiling turn it down to low and slowly stream in 200g polenta while stirring. Keep stirring as it thickens, up to 10 minutes
  • When it starts to get hard to stir it’s about ready so just throw in your veggies and combine.
  • Pour out into a greased pie dish and let it sit for 45 minutes.
  • Slice and serve with a rocket & tomato salad all drizzled with oilive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper.

 

 

, , , , , , , ,

Load More