vegan brownies

This is a bit weird as a "recipe" because it's just a modification of a mix, but whatever. It's been really good both times I made it.

 -box of brownie mix (just regular cheap stuff from Aldi--mine called for two eggs)

-most of a single-serving tub of unsweetened applesauce 

-3 TBS natural/unsweetened almond butter

-additional 1/4 cup or up to 1/3 cup cocoa powder 

-1/2 tsp baking powder

 

Make according to directions but substitute the applesauce and the almond butter for the eggs.  

 

Spread into 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes

 

You can also swirl 1/4 (or more; doing this again I'd use 1/2) cup of tahini onto it after putting it in the pan.  

(vegan) Fried Green Tomatoes

from https://yupitsvegan.com/vegan-fried-green-tomatoes/

These were really great. I made them in a nonstick 12" skillet and I think that--both the size and the nonstick surface--really helped. 

4 large unripe/green tomatoes, cut into 1/4 or 1/8 inch slices 

flour mixture:

1 cup all-purpose flour  

1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp paprika 

1/4 tsp garlic powder 

liquid mixture:

1/2 cup aquafaba  

2 tbsp unsweetened extra creamy oat milk 

breading mixture:

1/2 cup panko-style breadcrumbs 

1/2 cup cornmeal 

2 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Put (well-mixed) flour and breading mixtures on small plates; put liquid mixture in shallow bowl

Put oil in large pan to reach about 1/2". Heat over medium heat to 360 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer you can put one popcorn kernel in the oil at the beginning--when it pops, the oil should be about 360 degrees. 

Lightly dip the tomato into flour mixture. Shake off excess. Dip into liquid, let excess drip off.  Then dip it into the breadcrumb mixture. Press gently to adhere the coating. Let any excess crumbs fall off and place the battered tomato on a plate.

Put tomatoes into hot oil without crowding. Brown on one side (about 2-3 minutes) then flip and fry on other side. Turn/remove with slotted wood spoon. Place on paper towels to drain. 

vegan pumpkin bread

 https://simple-veganista.com/pumpkin-loaf/

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup reg, 1 whole wheat)

• 1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar (i used 1/2 cup dark brown, packed)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 tsp each cinnamon & ginger and 1/2 tsp each nutmeg & allspice and a pinch of clove

• pinch of salt

• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla

• 1/3 cup unsweetened soy milk (at room temp)

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (can also use neutral oil)

• 1 can (15 oz) 100% pumpkin puree 
• 2 tbs ground flax seeds plus some extra splashes of soy milk cuz it seemed dry

baked at 350 in a 9x5 pan

pre-tasting, I think: maybe a bit more sugar, maybe a bit more clove?

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.

vegan waffles

This makes 6 Belgian waffles. finally got a ratio that I like. Non-vegan waffles tend to have a ratio of 1/2 cup fat to 2 cups of flour and I don't know why many vegan recipes call for only 1/4 cup. I modified an existing recipe to up the fat & added two flax "eggs" which is what non-vegan waffles with 2 cups of flour would typically contain. 

 1 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk 

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 

2 cups all-purpose flour (240g) 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

1 tablespoon brown sugar 

1/2 cup melted coconut oil 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract 

2 TBSP flaxseed, ground 

6 TBSP warm water 

Turn on waffle iron to preheat. Add apple cider vinegar & vanilla extract to (room temp) soy milk and let sit for a few minutes to make buttermilk sift dry ingredients together into big bowl melt coconut oil mix flaxseed & water together in small bowl, let sit for a minute or two add wet ingredients to dry and mix gently spray nonstick cooking spray on waffle iron before each waffle use 1/2 cup batter for each waffle

Chocolate Chia Pudding

1 can of reduced fat coconut milk (Trader Joe's brand, about 2 cups even though the can says it's about 6 1/4-cup servings)
1/2 cup chia seeds
~3 TBS granulated sugar
splash vanilla extract
dash of salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder (plus a little more?)

I used an immersion blender to blend everything well before adding the chia seeds, and I'm letting it sit at room temperature for a bit to set before refrigerating because coconut milk solidifies in the fridge and I imagine that chia seeds can't absorb solid coconut milk.

Verdict: tasty, but didn't taste like what I wanted, which was...honestly probably chocolate soy milk. Which is an unfair expectation of coconut chia pudding. 

Collard greens (vegetarian)

This is only to remind myself what I've done and liked, not because I think it's some amazing recipe..

1 lb precut collard greens (stems included)
3/4 of a medium onion
~3 cloves of garlic, minced
red pepper flakes (several good shakes, maybe half a teaspoon? more than I'd use for a head of bok choy)
oil
pinch of salt
water

Saute the garlic for  maybe half a minute in the oil on medium heat,then add the red pepper flakes and the onion. Saute for a bit.I did not let the onion brown, mostly because my heat level was off and it was looking like it was going to burn. Add the collard greens, stir to coat with some of the oil. You may have to wait a second for some of it to wilt/compress before adding more,but you should be able to fit a whole pound in a 4.5 quart pot. Keep stirring a bit to coat all leaves with the oil.  Sprinkle a little salt.  Add a few splashes of water so that you can braise rather than continuing to saute.

Turn the heat down to pretty low and cover the pot.  Stir every so often and let it cook for maybe..half an hour? Til the stems are soft enough and mild enough to be pleasant.

Potato Curry

Putting it here for reference so I don't lose it.
From http://vegrecipes.livejournal.com/1342699.html

4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 teaspoons curry powder
4 teaspoons garam masala
1 inch of ginger, grated
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper maybe start with 1/4 or 1/2 tsp, add more later. 3/4 was too much.
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 can diced tomatoes (~15oz size)
1 can of coconut milk (~15oz size)
1 can garbanzos, rinsed and drained (~15oz size)
1 can peas (I used 1/2 a package of frozen peas)

Boil potatoes til (just barely) soft. Sautee onions and garlic til soft. Stir in curry powder, garam masala, ginger, cumin, cayenne and salt. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring. Mix in potatoes, garbanzos, and peas, then stir in the tomatoes and coconut milk. Simmer 5-10 minutes.

Red Lentil Thai Chili

I want to make this soon: http://www.theppk.com/2010/12/red-lentil-thai-chili/

Olive oil (1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons, however much you feel like using)
1 large yellow onion, diced medium
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced medium
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes cut into ¾ inch chunks
1 cup red lentils
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups vegetable broth
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 15 oz can lowfat coconut milk
28 oz can diced tomatoes
½ cup fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
Limes for garnish (optional)
Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Saute onions and pepper in oil with a pinch of salt, for 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute more.
Add chili powder, sweet potatoes, lentils, salt and vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When lentils are cooked and sweet potatoes are tender, add the remaining ingredients and heat through.
Taste for salt and seasoning, top with cilantro and lime and serve!

(Green) split pea soup

from http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=936650 with modifications

6 cups water + Vegetable Bouillon powder (maybe 2 heaping TBS)
2 cups dried green split peas, rinsed (I used a 1-lb bag, that may be more than 2 cups)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
3 celery ribs with leaves, chopped (celery leaves are bitter and gross and not a substitute for parsley or whatever people may claim.)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried marjoram I used oregano 'cause I didn't have marjoram
1/2 tsp ground cumin
(omitted salt because bouillon is salty)
1/4 tsp pepper


I just dumped all this in a crock pot overnight, no sauteeing first. I heated the crock pot up a bit while I was chopping vegetables, and I boiled a kettle of water to dump over it. I left it on high for maybe half an hour and then turned it to low and let it cook for about 8 or 9 hours.

Verdict: pretty good.

Minestrone

I've made minestrone a bunch of times but was never incredibly happy with it. I had dinner at a friend's house a few weeks ago and they'd made a really great vegetarian minestrone from Moosewood. I'm actually not sure if this is the exact same recipe (there are so many different Moosewood cookbooks) but I was pretty happy with the way this came out. Putting green peppers in was a new thing for me, so that may have helped. Here's roughly what I did, which is a variation on what's listed in the link. (I made this last week so my memory's not perfect.)

http://www.ivu.org/recipes/italian/minestrone2-j.html

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 5 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 cup celery -- minced
• 1 cup carrot -- cubed
• 1 cup zucchini, cubed
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley -- chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 3 cups tomato puree (~42 oz canned tomatoes blended in Cuisinart)
• 3 1/2 cups water or less - to cover (use water from cooking garbanzos if possible)

Saute garlic and onions in oil until they are soft and translucent.
Add 1 tsp. salt, carrot, celery.
Mix well.
Add oregano, black pepper and basil.
Cover and cook over low heat 5-8 minutes.
Add green pepper, zucchini, stock, puree, and cooked beans.
Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Add tomatoes and remaining salt.
Keep at lowest heat until 10 minutes before you plan to serve. Add parsley for the last ~20 minutes of cooking.

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.

Dukkah

On Saturday I tasted dukkah (brand: "Alexandra's", imported into the US from NZ, oddly) on bread (dip bread in olive oil, dip in dukkah, eat) and it was very tasty. I want to try to make some myself. The kind I ate and liked had hazelnuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds (oh so different from fresh coriander--AKA cilantro!) and cumin.

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.

Moroccan roasted tomato and chickpea stew

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

Lentil soup w/ tomato & cumin

EDIT: I finished cooking this, and ate it, and it wasn't bad but it wasn't that great. It's possible the frozen spinach was off in some way, but it might just not be a flavor combo that I like.
----
Usually I make very plain lentil soup - celery, onions, carrots, lentils, maybe spinach or parsley. So this is newish.

And as a side note, lately I have been better with doing mise en place - the deal where you take out all your ingredients at the beginning and measure, peel, and chop whatever needs measuring, peeling, and chopping before you start combining anything - and it really makes cooking feel more enjoyable. It feels more orderly and less chaotic, which makes it more relaxing and lets me enjoy the process rather than just the results.

Adapted from http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/02/vegetarian-lentil-soup-recipe-with.html

1 T oil
1 T ground cumin
2 small/medium onions, chopped small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground coriander
fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 cups brown lentils
5ish cups of water
1 TBS-ish of bouillon powder
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juice
2 cups frozen chopped spinach
salt to taste

Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot. Stir in onion, minced garlic, cumin, ground coriander, and black pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook about 1 minute more.

Add lentils, water, and bouillon powder (or maybe add that in after lentils are done cooking, since the salt in it might make them not get tender so easily), reduce heat, and simmer uncovered about 30-40 minutes, or until lentils are quite tender.

Add diced tomatoes and juice and chopped spinach and simmer uncovered 20-30 more minutes, until soup ingredients are well blended and lentils are starting to break apart. Season to taste with salt and serve hot.

Poppyseed Bundt Cake

I haven't made this in years, but I have a photocopy of the recipe that I keep losing track of, so I'm putting it here. It is tasty and moist and makes me wish I had a bundt pan around. It's from The Pleasures of Your Food Processor by Norene Gilletz. You could probably make it with a mixer instead (mixers are better than food processors for making cake anyhow). I could probably make it with a mixer instead, too. Hmm, I should get a bundt pan. 1/2 c. poppyseeds 1 c. buttermilk or sour milk (I've used 1 c. soy milk + 1 TBS vinegar or lemon juice) 1 c. butter or margarine, cut in chunks (I've only used margarine because I've always made it dairy-free in the past) 1.5 c. sugar 4 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract (or ALMOND) 2.5 c. flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda Soak poppyseeds in milk for at least 1/2 an hour. Using the food processor's steel knife, process butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla for 2 minutes. Remove cover and add poppyseed/milk mixture to batter. Process for 3-4 seconds to blend. Add dry ingredients and process with 5-6 on/off turns. Mix through with a rubber spatula if batter is not completely blended. Pour into a greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan (Bakers Joy flour spray is awesome for this). Bake @ 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until cake tests done. Cool 15 minutes before removing from pan. NOTE 1 - baked this in an oven at almost exactly 325 (thanks to my oven thermometer--a new thing for me) and it seemed done-but-moist at 45 minutes--toothpick was clean.) It was fine, and probably wouldn't have seemed unpleasantly underdone if I'd pulled it out at 40 or 42 minutes. NOTE 2 - tried making a vegan version of this - soy milk, margarine, and aquafaba substituted for the eggs (3 tbs to an egg) and it came out pretty well. I did that version of it in a kitchenaid mixer because that's what I had access to.

kale-cranberry barley salad

This is a copy of something I've seen (but not eaten) in the Whole Foods salad bar. I went for a higher ratio of kale to barley, and I made sure not to overcook my kale (theirs looks pale sometimes.)

1-1.5 c pearled barley
1 bunch kale (lacinato)
1-2 onions
balsamic vinegar
4 oz dried cranberries
olive oil
lemon
salt
pepper


Cook some pearled barley: I used between 1 and 1.5 cups of dry barley. Cook in 3x as much water: boil water in pot, add in barley, return to boil, cover and turn down to simmer. Official instructions I've read said 45 minutes' cooking time, but I let it go only about 30ish, and then turned off the flame and let it absorb some more water. There was still water left in the pot, but I figure that helped keep the grains separate and non-mushy.

Saute/almost-sort-of begin to caramelize an onion (I used 1 medium, I'd use two if I'd had more) that's been sliced thin - I did thing onion rings and then sliced into 2-3 cm long pieces. Remove onion to bowl.

Add slight bit oil in pot, add 1 bunch lacinato/dinosaur kale which has been washed, stems removed, and chopped into bite-sized pieces. Cook lightly, possibly add a bit of water and cover it. Really just go slightly beyond wilting it.

Add to that bowl with the sauteed onions: about 2 TBS balsamic vinegar (or more), 1 TBS olive oil, some salt, some pepper, some lemon juice (1/4 of a lemon?) Now add in kale, warm barley, and about 4 oz of dried sweetened cranberries. Stir, adjust spices. Consider adding a little white sugar if it needs it. Good cold.

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.