vegan shepherd's pie

 from here with modifications: https://www.beyondmeat.com/en-US/recipes/beyond-beef-shepherds-pie-2

Made this yesterday--quite good!!

1 lb Beyond Beef

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (2 - 2 ½ lbs) (I used what I had in the closet, some ancient red potatoes unpeeled)

1/4 cup margarine

2 tsp salt, divided

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

3 carrots

6 cloves garlic

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

1 ½ tsp paprika

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp plant-based Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ cup vegetable broth

1 cup frozen peas

½ cup frozen corn

 

 

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp salt and let boil for another 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain and mash adding plant-based butter and another ½ tsp salt.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the onion and carrots into ¼-inch cubes and dice the garlic.

3. Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil and onions to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic. Cook 2-3 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add Beyond Beef to the pan and break into crumbles. Let cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the flour parsley, thyme, rosemary, and paprika then stir to coat the Beyond Beef. Let cook for one additional minute.

5. Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer and let thicken for 3-4 minutes. Add the corn and peas and then season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Pour the filling into a baking dish and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Bake in a 400 F oven for 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Nutty Grain salad

I recently remembered how much I used to like Trader Joe's (long-discontinued) Nutty Grain Salad. I tracked down an ingredient list in the hopes of recreating it some time soon. I will definitely be leaving out the cilantro. I'm curious what the pomegranate juice concentrate does...

cooked red quinoa, cooked spelt (wheat), edamame

(soybeans), carrots, dry roasted peanuts, canola oil, sweet

chili sauce (sugar, water, pickled red chili, vinegar, garlic,

salt, xanthan gum), water, pumpkin seeds, soy sauce

(water, soybeans, wheat, salt), honey, ginger, sugar, rice

vinegar (rice vinegar, water), white wine vinegar, pistachios,

cilantro, lime juice, pomegranate juice concentrate,

modified rice starch.

 

reformated/simplified ingredient list:

red quinoa

spelt

edamame

carrots

dry roasted peanuts

canola oil

sweet chili sauce

pumpkin seeds

soy sauce

honey

ginger

rice vinegar

white wine vinegar

pistachios

[cilantro]

lime juice

pomegranate juice concentrate

 

vegetarian kishke

I have not made this in over 20 years, but saving the recipe to try it again soon: 

Spice & Spirit vegetarian kishke

1/2 cup oil
2 stalks of celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, quartered
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
pepper to taste

put oil and cut up veggies in a blender until thick paste forms. put in a bowl, add flour and seasonings and mix well.

shape in a roll, on greased foil, roll tightly in foil. place on baking sheet and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 350.

for cholent- bake for only 1/2 hour and put in the pot with foil on top.

Black Beluga Lentil Salad

(Loosely based on the packaged lentil salad they sell at Peet's.)

1 cup black beluga lentils
4 cups water
1 small shallot, diced
~1 tbs chopped parsley
1 carrot, grated fine
~2 oz feta cheese
half a lemon's worth of juice
red wine vinegar to taste
olive oil to taste/preference
salt to taste
pepper

Put lentils and water in a pot, bring to a faint boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add chopped shallots and cook for 10 more minutes, til cooked but still firm. (You can also just add the shallots after cooking, but raw onion is a bit sharp for me.)
Drain. I did not rinse.

Put into bowl. Add remaining ingredients (Some recipes say to let the lentils cool first but I did this while still warm.) Stir, eat.

Half of this recipe (which feels about like a portion if it's all you're eating) contains ~370 cal 6g fat, 29g protein, 51g carbohydrate and 20g fiber.I did not include olive oil in this so probably slightly more fat.  Going forward I'd be inclined to use more olive oil to make it a bit more balanced/less carbohydrate-dense, though I didn't measure how much olive oil I used, so...

mushroom quiche - again.

This recipe - from Moosewood - modified:

1 (9 inch) pie crust - deep dish, still frozen - and despite it being deep dish, I still had extra filling

1 1/2 cups grated cheese  - about two thirds swiss and the rest aged Havarti
1 medium onion, chopped
oil for frying
1/4 lb sliced mushrooms[I would have perhaps used more mushrooms and fewer onions]
salt and pepper
thyme


Egg Custard Ingredients

4 eggs  - i used three and a half jumbo - I doubled the recipe
1 cup milk, 1/2 cup half and half (or all half & half)
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder

freshly grated nutmeg

Sautee onions for a bit, then add mushrooms and thyme and salt and pepper and sautee til soft. Meanwhile, make up custard mixture and grate cheese. Preheat oven to 375*

Dump veggies into crust. Mix cheese with custard mixture, stir, and then dump over veggies while cheese is still evenly dispersed. Bake forty to forty-five minutes.

This also totally works without a crust if you use a good amount of oil spray in the pan - it comes out fine and is solid enough to be sliced. 

Vegetarian chili!

I made a big pot of vegetarian chili for my anti-Superbowl party (beer, classic snacks, the company of friends, but no annoying game to sit through)yesterday and I'm really happy with how it came out. I think part of the trick is that I didn't really add any water--all the liquid came from the tomato products and maybe a tad from not-perfectly-drained reconstituted TVP.  I was especially happy that it was flavorful enough since the TVP was totally unseasoned. (You can buy beef or chicken flavored TVP and I think I've used that in the past.)

To the best of my memory, this is what I did (in a humongous 11-qt stockpot, which was useful because it's thick and can kind of splash if it bubbles when it's cooking--but this doesn't make anywhere close to 11 quarts of chili, as eyeballing the recipe should reveal):

-2 onions, chopped relatively fine, sauteed in a healthy (haha) amount of oil with some (1 TBS each?) cumin and chili powder (mine was labelled "mild". Can't remember where I got it.)

Added after a while:
-2 smallish red peppers, diced relatively fine (more so than the onions)
-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-about 1-1.5 (dry) cups of unflavored TVP, the sort with a texture approximating ground beef/turkey, reconstituted with boiling water (but I mostly tried to squeeze the water out again before adding to the pot)
-1 jalapeno pepper, diced (including seeds)

I stirred that around for awhile, then added:
-3 (small-14-16oz) cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 1 of which was pulverized in the food processor)
-about the equivalent of 1 more can of not-fire-roasted tomatoes, also pulverized
-about 1/4 cup (maybe less? maybe 2 TBS?) of cocoa powder
-a bunch more cumin, a bunch more chili powder, some dried oregano (ground between my palms, which I believe makes it more potent somehow), a bunch of paprika, maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp of liquid smoke
-2 cans of low-sodium dark red kidney beans (drained)
-2 cans of low-sodium pinto beans (drained)
-3 more cloves of garlic, minced

 I let it cook on a pretty low flame for a good long while. It needed a little bit of salt.

Red Cabbage and Roasted Cashew Salad

from http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2008/07/29/oh-yes-its-ladies-night/
I want to make this, haven't done it yet. I'll probably buy pre-roasted cashews (maybe the 50% less salt sort), skip the cilantro, and...not sure about the hot pepper. I just like the idea of a crunchy cabbage salad with something other than ramen noodles, tasty as they are. 1 1/2 cups unsalted raw cashews
1/2 of a medium-large red cabbage
1 basket of cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
1 tablespoon curry powder
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
One cap full of olive oil whisked with 1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
One finely diced hot cherry pepper, seeded and veined (optional if your guests are sensitive)
Sprinkle raw cashews with season salt and splenda (or sugar). In a skillet roast the cashews for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan a few times to avoid burning. If you have extra cashews, put them aside for people to snack on… they sure are tasty!
Cut the cabbage into two quarters and cut out the core. Shred each quarter into thin slices, bite-sized. Combine the cabbage, tomatoes, cherry pepper, and cilantro in a bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt and whisk. Add to the cabbage mixture and gently stir to combine. Just before serving fold in the cashews. Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt if needed. Serve room temperature or chilled.
--
Postmortem, months later - this was pretty good! I wanted it to be a little sweeter so I added some juice from some tangerines I had sitting around that weren't really a good texture for eating anymore. 

simple vegetarian chili

1 (14oz) can fire-roasted tomatoes (Trader Joe's)
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 cans of beans (1 black, 1 garbanzo), rinsed
oregano
cumin
chili powder

Run the tomatoes through the blender to pulverize. This seems to help the consistency and flavor of the chili--it spreads the tomato taste through the chili better than individual chunks do. Saute onions in oil until browned on the edges. Add tomatoes. Cook a little. Add beans and spices to taste. Add a little water if needed. Cook on medium for a while, until you get bored. This tastes better with more cooking/the second day, and tastes oddly good with broccoli.

UPDATE: I often double this recipe and use a finely chopped green bell pepper (sauteed with the onion - generally added after it has sauteed a bit already) . Also I add a few cloves of garlic. Sometimes paprika. It's pretty good and pretty easy.

bok choy/tofu stir-fry

This isn't super special but I like how it came out, so...notes!

Trader Joe's High Protein Tofu--super dense, doesn't need to have the water pressed out

Cube tofu, make a marinade of 2 cloves of garlic (put in garlic press), healthy splashes of soy sauce, lemon pepper, coriander, a little celery salt (I dunno, it was there) and a splash of sriracha. (This was a new ingredient to me, particularly.) Also add a few chopped mushrooms
Stir it around, let it sit while you cut up:

1 head of bok choy.

Heat up a wok, very hot. Splash some oil in the bottom. Add the tofu and any marinade that's left, cook for a while. I think my mushrooms would have burned before the tofu got especially brown. When I started to get worried it'd burn, I added the bok choy stalks and stirred, lowered the heat a little, covered it for a bit, and basically just tried to soften the stalks a tad. Then I dumped in the leaves/green part and threw the cover on for a bit to just wilt them--maybe a minute. Then I took the cover off, stirred, and ate it.

Main takeaways from this:
-TJ's high protein tofu = awesome
-Sriracha sauce in stir fry = interesting, good, (it's definitely kind of hot though, even with the bok choy cutting it)
-letting bok choy stalks stay crunchy in stir fry = nice.

Pickled Cauliflower

I just made some pickled cauliflower with this recipe. Changes: I used a 24-oz jar (2 quarts would be 32 oz) so I scaled things back: 3/4 cup of vinegar, 3/4 cup of water, 1.5 tsp of salt. I used about 3 slices of a very large (but pithy) lemon, the whole clove of garlic, and the whole 1/4 tsp of black peppercorns. I don't think I used anywhere near 2 lbs of cauliflower--I just cut slices and stuck them in the jar to see what would fit, and then I blanched those. I used white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar, more because that's what I had than out of any taste preference, though I'm not a big fan of apple cider vinegar. I've seen lots of pickle recipes that use white vinegar anyway. So. I'll report back in 12+ hours.

Aaaand...months later, actually:
this was OK, but not amazing. I didn't let it sit all that long, but mostly--it's a lot of work for something that's not all that much better (to me) or exciting (to me) than plain cauliflower (which I will eat raw.) Perhaps if it had pickled for weeks it might be more interesting. 

Pesto! (Arugula & Walnut)

I used this recipe:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/

2 cups of packed arugula leaves, stems removed
1/2 cup of shelled walnuts
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 garlic clove peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels on in a skillet over medium high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in places, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.

2 Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown, or heat in a microwave on high heat for a minute or two until you get that roasted flavor. In our microwave it takes 2 minutes.

3a Food processor method (the fast way): Combine the arugula, salt, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

NOTES: Browning garlic and walnuts on the stove is weird. I think next time I'll do both in the oven.
Too much garlic (!) Not sure if that was because my stovetop-browned garlic wasn't as cooked as it should be--it was almost burnt in places but it wasn't soft like roasted garlic is--or just a matter of amount. I'd say 4 cloves would be about right.
I added about 3/4 of a small lemon's worth of juice, and probably used a bit more Parmesan than called for. I also added it in in hte food processor instead of stirring it in the bowl.
I did not remove stems from the (packaged, Trader Joe's) arugula. I think removing the stems is more for less tender stuff.

Overall--very tasty and good.

[Spicy, Indian-food-inspired] garbanzos + kale

1 can of chickpeas
half an onion, chopped relatively small
6ish leaves of kale, sliced fine
splotches of marinara sauce (1/2 cup?)
shitload of paprika
salt
powdered ginger
garam masala
cumin
curry powder
yogurt

Sauteed onion in oil for a bit, added chickpeas and spices and fried a bit, dumped in marinara sauce and cooked a bit more,then dumped in kale and a little bit of water and stirred a bit and then put the lid on and cooked til the kale was wilted. Stirred a few spoonfuls of yogurt into my bowl before eating.

I do variations on this all the time, and I always forget what I do. (Tomatoes? No tomatoes? Garlic? Etc.) I usually do fresh ginger, but I think the powdered ginger might be even better. This has a nice hotness to it and it's evenly dispersed through the dish.

Moroccan roasted tomato and chickpea stew

Haven't used this recipe yet, but I want to:
http://vegrecipes.livejournal.com/1746376.html

pasta + vegetables

I watched a friend make this last night and would like to replicate it some time. It was richer than I'd expect.

chopped onion + garlic
sliced vegetables: bell pepper, broccoli, snow peas, grape tomatoes
pasta
milk
breadcrumbs
cheese

Saute onion and garlic with some Italian seasonings, then add other veggies. Toward the end--some grape tomatoes.
Then, add milk(mixed with buttermilk, this time) (and I think also some vegennaise?)and cook for a bit. Then add "Italian" breadcrumbs. And add some cheese (he used grated Havarti.) Serve over pasta and with some chicken or other meat for protein.

Kale/cheese/quinoa

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 of a large bunch of kale, shredded into thin ribbons (I include the stems, especially if they're not too tough.)
grated cheese (maybe 3 oz?) I used Havarti but anything would probably be tasty

Put quinoa and water in a pot; bring to a boil. Cover and lower the heat. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat. Dump in the shredded cheese and stir a little bit with a fork. Add the shredded kale and stir a bit too. Put the lid back on and let sit for about 5 more minutes to lightly cook the kale and melt the cheese. Stir again and eat/serve.

Spicy Red Lentil and Chickpea Stew

adapted slightly from http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2009/10/recipe-for-spicy-red-lentil-and.html

1 large onion, finely chopped (I think I used slightly less with no problem)
1 T canola oil
1 T finely grated fresh ginger
1 T finely minced garlic
1 tsp. ground turmeric
3/4 cup celery, finely diced (I used half of this because I didn't have enough around)
1 tsp. Garam Masala
1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock (I used 6 c water + bulk vegetarian bouillon powder)
1 1/2 cups red lentils
~2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can, rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

Heat oil in a heavy, big pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add onions, ginger, garlic, and turmeric and gently saute, stirring often, for about 7 minutes, or until onions are quite soft but not browned. Add diced celery, garam masala, ground cardamom, cayenne pepper, and ground cumin and saute 3-4 minutes more, until celery barely starts to soften.

Add the stock, red lentils, canned tomatoes, and chickpeas and bring mixture to a gentle boil. When it starts to bubble, reduce heat to the barest simmer and cover pan with lid. Let mixture simmer, stirring a few times, until lentils are dissolved enough that mixture has thickened into a chunky stew (about an hour.)

stew

Nothing fancy here, but I had never made stew with meat in it before so I want to keep track of what I used. (Almost twenty years of almost-vegetarianism will do that to you.) I think this has a lower meat:vegetable ratio than most, but I figure that if I can make stew with no meat, I can make stew with less meat than you're supposed to...whatever "supposed to" means, anyway.

5 stalks of celery (I think)
5 carrots
4 onions
1 turnip
8oz mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic
1 lb stew beef
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
4 smallish potatoes

maybe 2 TBS thyme (dried)
maybe 2 TBS paprika
salt
pepper
1 bay leaf
some dried rosemary (less than 1 TBS)

I used an 11-quart stockpot, which had lots of extra space in it. Cut up and sauteed everything except tomato stuff, beef, garlic and potatoes for a bit, then added those and sauteed a bit more, then water. Cooked slowly for a long time...at least an hour, maybe more like two? The meat seems tender enough.

African Chickpea Stew

I made this recently with my aunt. Recipe archived from here. We used just a fork to mix it, added some tapatio for a kick, and served it over quinoa. It's amazing how sweet it is. It almost tastes like it has added sugar.

Ingredients
1 can chick peas
1 1/2 lbs uncooked sweet potato diced
1 can diced tomatoes (low sodium or no salt added)(I used a 14-16 oz can, or 28oz for a doubled recipe.)
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup carrots, sliced
Spice paste (recipe below)
Spice Paste Ingredients
4 8 cloves garlic (always increase teh garlic!)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Spice Paste Directions
Blend all spice paste ingredients in a blender or mini food processor until a thick paste forms.
Add water one teaspoon at a time if necessary.
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large skillet and simmer until vegetables are tender.
Serve with brown rice or quinoa.

this was edible*

EDIT:  Over a year later, I need to go back and give myself credit for this. It's a reliably tasty dish that I make often.

[*oh how the standards for this blog have fallen!]

Cook about 3 cups (dry) red lentils until soft. A 2 qt pot is not quite big enough for this.

In separate pot, saute 1.5 onions, chopped, maybe until they start to get brownish, then add a bunch of curry powder, some cumin, some chili powder, some berbere (I think it actually needs the berbere, even though I only used it the first time because I ran out of curry powder), some garam masala, some salt. If you have not randomly begun cooking at 8:30 pm with whatever you have in the house, you might wish to buy some fresh ginger and mince it and throw that in. Cook some more. Dump in 28 oz pureed tomatoes (or a can of whole peeled tomatoes with basil, whirred in the blender. See above re randomly cooking with what's on hand) and 3 cloves of garlic, chopped. Cook for a bit.

Dump lentils into the curry mixture. Add a can of coconut milk. (Coconut milk covers a multitude of sins.) Adjust seasonings. Heat through and eat. Becomes more awesome if you put a few spoonfuls of yogurt into it.

moderately healthy food for lazy people

This is for lazy people because it doesn't involve sauteeing anything first, or cutting up many vegetables, or actually mincing the garlic.

rinse and put in a gigantic pot (because it will foam and boil up a lot):

- red lentils (maybe two cups)
- barley (maybe half a cup)

add:
1 onion, chopped
a few cloves of garlic, chopped
1 yam, peeled and cubed
a tablespoon or so of curry powder
lots of water
a splash of oil (to help prevent boiling over)

cook on high until the lentils fall apart. then add a can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, and cook until the barley is tender.

add: a tablespoon or more of vegetable bouillon powder, salt to taste.