2010 February « Vegan Eats

Archive for February, 2010

Sweet Potato and Kale Soup

Published February 28, 2010 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Tags: coconut, gluten-free option, kale, sweet potato

Kale is awesome. A highly nutritious leafy green of the cabbage family, kale is a great source of vitamin C and is considered to have very strong antioxidant properties. But screw all that silly nutrition talk, the real reason it’s so awesome is because it tastes wicked and has a totally sweet texture! So hearty! But seriously, eat lots of kale. If nothing else, we’ll be better friends for it!

I was trying to go with some Caribbean flavours with this soup; allspice, thyme, nutmeg, chili, and coconut milk (which is always on hand in my pantry, obvs). I defintely gotta dedicate this recipe to my pal, Shamus, who helped me out big time with the CSS style code when I was setting up this website. I know very, very little about computers, so his help was greatly appreciated. Not only does this man have an admirable appreciation for ridiculously spicy Caribbean food and curries, he’s also a computer genius; he can make robots and stuff. Plus, he’s been invited to South Africa to speak to an audience about some crazy computer programming thing that he once tried to explain to me in ultra layman’s terms, but I still didn’t know what he was talking about! Haha! Way to go, Moose!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoons fresh ginger root, minced
2 medium-sized sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek (our your favourite hot chili sauce)
1/2 big bunch kale, thick stems removed, washed, and chopped (about 7 cups)
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups low-sodium or homemade vegetable broth
2 cups water
14 oz. can coconut milk
19 oz. can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Instructions:
1. In a large saucepan or stockpot, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add the sweet potato, thyme, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sambal oelek. Cook, stirring often, for another 3 or 4 minutes. Add the kale and sauté for one more minute.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, vegetable broth, and water. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, immediately turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the sweet potato is tender.
4. Add the coconut milk, white beans, and cane sugar. Turn heat up a little bit to medium-low and let cook uncovered for another 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice. If needed, season to taste with extra salt, pepper, sugar, or chili sauce.
Makes: 4 to 5 servings.

Chocolate-Peanut Fudge

Published February 24, 2010 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Tags: chocolate, dessert

So my friend, Chelsie, is an awesome graphic design artist and was kind enough to design both the header image for this website, as well as the background layout for the Twitter page. I told her that in appreciation of her fine work, I would make her a recipe and put it up on this little web space of mine. I asked her what types of food she likes and she was quick to inform me that any kind of dessert would do just fine. I instantly thought, “Shit. I never make desserts.” I had to put some thought into it, since I definitely wanted it to be at least half decent! Good thing is, this fudge turned turned out better than half-decent; I think it actually turned out pretty awesome. There’s one catch: you gotta keep the finished product in the fridge or freezer, because unfortunately, it became extremely soft after sitting at room temperature for about 2 hours or so. I was bummed about this, but hey, I’m no chocolatier, so whatever. It still tastes great. Enjoy!

A note on the ingredients: this is a simple recipe with only a few ingredients, so make sure you use good quality (vegan) dark chocolate. I chose the ‘Cocoa Camino‘ brand, more specifically, their bittersweet dark chocolate bar, which is made with a minimum of 71% cocoa. Good stuff. Oh, and it’s fair trade and organic, which is definitely the way to go. Also, the coconut milk I used was much thicker than usual, hopefully this doesn’t mean that coconut milk with a thinner consistency will result in the fudge not keeping its firmness.

Ingredients:
2 100 gram dark chocolate bars, chopped (or 7oz. of good quality vegan dark chocolate chips)
2 tablespoons soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped

Instructions:
1. We have to make a double boiler in order to melt the chocolate over indirect heat, so that it doesn’t burn. To do this, fill a small saucepan with about an inch or two of water and bring to a simmering boil over medium heat. Fit an aluminum bowl over the top of the pot with the simmering water.
2. Add the chopped chocolate pieces and the soy milk. Stir often for a few minutes until it starts to melt together, but still chunky. One of those flexible silicone spatulas is perfect for this, since you can really get the melting chocolate of the sides of bowl, ensuring that it doesn’t burn.
3. Stir in the coconut milk and the sugar. Turn heat down to medium-low and stir constantly until everything is melted together, about 4 minutes. Turn heat off and carefully remove the bowl off the steaming pot. Be careful, it’s hot.
4. Stir in the chopped peanuts.
5. Pour the fudge mixture into a small loaf pan (or a similar sized tray) lined with parchment paper. Chill in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove from loaf pan and peel off parchment paper. Cut into strips or squares. Store in the fridge or freezer to keep firm.

TACO NIGHT!

Published February 19, 2010 Uncategorized 4 Comments
Tags: gluten-free option, mexican, walnut

The small tortillas meant they were more like 'open faced' tacos; tostada style!

BBQs, cookouts, potlucks, dinner parties… any food-related activity and I’m totally there. About a week ago, I headed over to Ashley and Ryan’s house to catch up with my old pals over some beers and a home-cooked meal. It was great. On the menu: tacos with home-made corn tortillas and all the vegan fixins. Taco nights are the best. They’re great on so many levels; they make for a perfect communal meal, the toppings can be as creative or traditional as you want, and home-made tortillas are a cinch to make, not to mention a lot fresher than the packaged stuff. Don’t be scared to make your own corn tortillas from scratch, all you need is some masa de harina, which is a flour-like powder made from dried field corn (maize) that’s been treated with calcium hydroxide (lime). One popular brand is ‘Maseca,’ which can be found in the international section of most supermarkets and definitely in any Latin foods market. Also, you can find the recipes for the guacamole and the rice with re-fried black beans elsewhere on the blog if you follow my handy little links there!

Ashley was kind enough to snap some pictures with her camera, which was sweet, because I hadn’t originally planned on blogging this successful night of taco and friendship. Michelle and Ryan’s girlfriend, Lyndsey, joined in and the five of us all maxed our bellies out on some seriously tasty Mexican foodness. (That’s goodness and food in one great word, it’s pronounced ‘fuhd-niss‘). Below is the night in picture form, along with a couple simple recipes. (The ground walnut ‘meat’ is a fave whenever I make it for people). Enjoy! ¡Buen provecho!

Pico de gallo

Pico de Gallo
Ingredients:
5 small tomatoes, diced (preferably roma tomatoes)
¾ cup sweet onion, diced
Juice of half a lime
Handful cilantro, chopped
Sea salt, to taste

Instructions:
Mix everything together in a serving bowl and season with a good pinch of salt. If the tomatoes are very juicy, discard the seedy pulp before dicing them up. Otherwise your pico de gallo might be too watery.

Ingredients!

Makin' guac.

Walnut 'meat.'

Walnut Taco ‘Meat’
Ingredients:
1 cup raw walnuts
2¼ teaspoons good quality soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch ancho chili powder (optional)

Instructions:
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until crumbled and mixed together. Scrape the sides down to make sure all the ingredients are well mixed.

A big ball of masa.

Corn tortillas fresh from the tortilla press, before going into the hot skillets.

This was funny. Only one tortilla fit in one skillet, so we used all four burners. The kitchen got so friggin' hot. It was like we were in Mexico or something! (Funny?)

Pre-meal layout. The rice is covered by aluminum foil. Holy guacamole, you guys!

Tasty.

Beautiful and tasty.

Mushroom Barley Soup

Published February 14, 2010 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Tags: barley, mushroom, soup

I’m really pleased with the way this soup turned out. It calls for a whole pound of mushrooms, which is quite a lot for a relatively small amount of soup (about 4 servings). The move was certainly deliberate, as I really love mushrooms. Mushrooms are funny; I find that a lot of people either hate them or love them. I think it’s the texture of them, when cooked a certain way, that freaks people out. It must be a texture thing, because I don’t understand why anyone would dislike the flavour of mushrooms, since they come in so many different types with varying degrees of earthy richness. It just doesn’t make sense! Oh well, I guess we can’t all have pretentious attitudes of superior judgment when it comes to the often misguided ‘tastes’ of others. I’m not a snob, right? Whatever, this soup is awesome, so make it.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
16 ounces cremini mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup barley (You can use either pot barley or pearl barley, it’s all good. I used pot barley)
1/3 cup white wine
2 cups low-sodium or homemade vegetable broth
1½ cups water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon miso paste, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
3 cups spinach, chopped

Instructions:
1. In a stock pot or a very large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, and dried thyme. Sauté for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add the barley and sauté for another 2 minutes, stirring often. Add wine and let bubble for about a minute.
3. Stir in the vegetable broth, water, salt, and black pepper. Turn heat up and bring to a boil. Once boiling, immediately turn heat down to low, cover, and let simmer for about 40-45 minutes, or until barley is done cooking.
4. Uncover the pot and stir in the dissolved miso paste and spinach. Turn heat up a bit to medium-low and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes, or until spinach is just wilted. Season to taste with a tiny pinch more salt before serving.
Makes: 4 or 5 servings

Oven-Baked French Fries with Homemade Ketchup

Published February 10, 2010 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: potato

I used to make fresh cut fries in the oven a lot when I first went vegan, but could never seem to get them the way I wanted them: crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It took me a while, but eventually I learned that a good way was to soak them first in cold water to rinse off some of the starch and then broil them at a relatively high heat. I can’t really say I’ve perfected them yet, but these ones turned out pretty good. Blog worthy, for sure.

I’ve included a homemade ketchup recipe too. I find most generic store bought ketchup to be too sweet, so I figured I’d make my own. The last restaurant kitchen I worked in used to make a BBQ sauce that was kind of similar to this ketchup. Actually, the soy sauce I included in the recipe gives it a little bit of a BBQ-saucy flavour. I’m into it.

The great thing about making your own ketchup is that you control how sweet or sour you want it to be. If you want it sweeter, add more sugar, if you want it tangier, add more cider vinegar. You can even add a bit of hot sauce or chili peppers if you want. Experiment! Also, this recipe make a bunch of ketchup, so a good idea would be to freeze half of it for a later date. Otherwise, it should hold for about a week in the fridge.

Homemade Ketchup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
28oz. can diced or whole tomatoes (preferably without salt added)
1/4 cup good quality soy sauce
1/3 cup organic cane sugar (or any kind of sugar if you don’t got that)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
Sea salt, to taste (optional)

Instructions:
1. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until just beginning to caramelize.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down and let simmer until reduced by about a third, which should take about 40-50 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and let cool for a bit. In an upright blender, purée in batches. If needed, season to taste with a bit of salt.

Baked French Fries
Ingredients:
2 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4″ thick fries
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and set the rack to highest position, closest to the heating element.
2. Meanwhile, place the cut potato fries into a large bowl of cold water. Swish around a bit until water is cloudy. Drain and repeat a few times until the water runs clear. Doing this washes away a lot of the surface starch and will make your fries crispier.
3. Toss the fries in the olive oil, cumin, and coriander. Lay them out on a baking tray, preferably lined with parchment paper, and season with black pepper and a good pinch of salt.
4. Bake, on the top rack, for about 18 to 20 minutes. Flip the fries over with a spatula, being careful if they’re sticking, and bake for another 18 to 20 minutes, or until crispy on both sides. Season with a tiny pinch more salt right when they come out of the oven.
Serves: 1 or 2

Falafel

Published February 5, 2010 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Tags: chickpea, middle eastern, tahini

A school friend of mine mentioned that she wanted to make falafel. I told her that they were super easy, regardless of the fact that I’d never actually made them. I mean, I’ve eaten enough of them and I’ve worked in a restaurant that served them… soooo, they seemed easy enough to make. These ones turned out pretty good, regardless of the horrendous picture to the right.

Falafel sandwiches are one of those vegan-by-default fast food staples that everyone loves. Although, a lot of people don’t think to make it themselves, which I guess is fair, since most people probably think they need a deep fryer to cook them. Not so. We can easily, and safely (sort of), fry in a small saucepan filled with about 3 or 4 inches of canola oil.

I’ve included a simple tahini dressing below that you can douse your falafel sandwich in.

Ingredients:
1 19oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup red onion, diced
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Small handful each of fresh parsley and cilantro
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon unbleached all-purpose flour
Canola oil, for frying

Instructions:
1. In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the oil. Pulse until mixed together and fairly smooth. If you don’t have a food processor, just mash it up well in a big mixing bowl.
3. Remove falafel mixture and place into a large mixing bowl. Form into small golf ball sized shapes and flatten slightly.
3. Pour canola oil into a small saucepan until there’s about 3 or 4 inches of depth. Over medium heat, heat the oil to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.* If your oil begins to smoke, turn it down/off. Oil fires are not fun and can seriously mess you up! Drop falafel balls into the oil and fry for about 4 or 5 minutes, or until dark brown on the outside. It helps if you only fry two at a time with a metal slotted spoon (like in the picture below), so that they don’t break apart on you. Another way to make sure they don’t break up while frying is to not touch them with your spoon or tongs once you’ve dropped them in the oil for at least 30 seconds.
Note: If you don’t want to deep fry them, you can broil them in the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and put the rack to the highest position, just below the heating element. Flatten the falafel balls into thick disks and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. They should be nice and brown on each side.
Makes: 12 to 14 falafel balls

*If you don’t have an oil thermometer, one way to tell if the temperature is hot enough is to drop a small piece of bread into the oil. If it browns in about 20 to 25 seconds, the temperature is good. If it takes much less than that, it’s too hot. If it takes much more than 30 seconds, wait a bit longer… low temperature frying results in oily, soggy, and tasteless food.

Basic Tahini Dressing
Ingredients:
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon tahini
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:
In a mixing bowl, vigorously whisk together all the ingredients until well incorporated. If needed, season to taste with extra lemon juice or salt.

Vegan Eats

Archive for February, 2010

Sweet Potato and Kale Soup

Chocolate-Peanut Fudge

TACO NIGHT!

Mushroom Barley Soup

Oven-Baked French Fries with Homemade Ketchup

Falafel

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