Tomato Chickpea Curry

I am not sure why it has taken me so long to post this recipe, even though it is probably the most fool-proof and common recipe in my family’s meal rotation.  I just follow the recipe on the curry paste jar, but substitute potatoes and chickpeas for diced chicken, and add frozen peas or spinach.  Serve with rice or naan bread.

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 potato, peeled and diced

1  can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3-4 tbsp Patak’s Mild or Hot Curry Paste

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup milk or cream (or coconut milk)

frozen peas or chopped spinach (0ptional)

1. Saute onion and potatoes until onions are soft, about five minutes.

2. Add chickpeas and heat through, about 1 minute.

3. Add curry paste and cook for another 3-4 minutes, coating everything with the paste.

4. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes.  Then add the milk or cream and simmer another 10 minutes.  Check that the potatoes are done.

5. Add the frozen peas or spinach during the last five minutes.

Teriyaki Glazed Tofu

Try serving this dish with Japanese-style rice and the Broccoli and Snow Pea Stir-fry, below.  Both recipes are from a column called Eating In by Bonnie Stern in the National Post (date unknown.)  The last 4 items may be substituted with a pre-made teriyaki barbecue-style glaze.

1 pkg firm tofu

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp chopped fresh ginger root

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp molasses

1 tbps dark sesame oil

1.  Cut tofu into pieces about 1 1/2″ (4 cm) square.  Drain well and pat dry.  Heat vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet and brown tofu well – about 12 minutes.  Remove tofu from pan.

2.  Add garlic and ginger.  Cook 30 seconds.  Add teriyaki sauce, sugar, molasses and sesame oil.  Bring to a boil.  Add tofu.  Cook until liquid is reduced and syrupy and tofu is glazed –about 5 minutes.

3.  Add green onions and cook one minute longer.  Serve over rice.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Broccoli and Snow Pea Stirfry

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger root

1 head broccoli, broken into small florets and stems sliced

1/4 cup water

1/4 lb snow peas, trimmed

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

3 green onions, cut on the diagonal

1.  Heat oil in a large deep skillet or wok.  Add garlic and ginger.  Stir fry 30 seconds.

2.  Add broccoli and 1/4 cup water and cook 3 to 4 minutes.  Add soy sauce and oyster sauce and bring to a boil.  Cook 2 minutes.  Add snow peas and combine.

3.  Combine cornstarch with remaining water.  Stir fry half into vegetables.  Cook until glazed.  If sauce is not thick enough, add remaining cornstarch mixture.  Add green onions.  Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Coconut Curry Stir Fry

The original recipe calls for diced cooked meat, which is stir-fried for one minute before adding the orange juice.  The source is the National Post (unknown date.)

Everyone loves stir-fries.  If you would prefer one with Chinese flavours, use black bean sauce (Lee Kum Kee is the best) instead of the curry paste, and stock or water instead of the coconut milk.

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

4 green onions, chopped.

2 tbsp mild or hot curry paste (I like Patak’s.)

1/2 package of extra-firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes.

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 cups chopped cooked vegetables

1 cup canned coconut milk

3 cups cooked noodles, rice or pasta

1/2 cup toasted chopped nuts (peanuts, almonds, etc.)

1. Heat oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet.  Pan-fry tofu cubes until crispy.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Add a tablespoon more oil to the skillet if necessary.

2.  Add ginger, green onions and curry paste.  Stir-fry about one minute.

3.  Add orange juice and soy milk.  Bring to a boil and add vegetables and coconut milk.  Cook 3 or 4 minutes.

4.  Add noodles, pasta or rice, and tofu.  Toss well and cook a few minutes until sauce is mostly absorbed but dish is still saucy.  Taste for seasoning.  Sprinkle with nuts.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Bryanna’s “Breast of Tofu”

This marinade is so good, it actually has me excited about serving tofu to a meat-eater. I personally use poultry seasoning instead of sage, rosemary and thyme separately, and brown rice flour instead of whole wheat flour (the same as Julie Hasson prefers on “Everyday Dish.”) Guaranteed not to disappoint.

Bryanna’s “Breast of Tofu”

Marinade:
1 and 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

2 teaspoons dried sage leaves, crumbled (or 2 T. fresh, chopped)

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1/2 T. fresh)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1/2 T. fresh, chopped)

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Prepare the marinade by mixing all of the ingredients together in a 5 cup rigid plastic container with a tight lid. Slice the tofu about 1/4″ thick and place in the marinade so that it is fairly tightly-packed and covered with liquid. Cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks, shaking daily.

Bryanna’s Seasoned Flour:

Keep some of this in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator– you’ll find many uses for it.

2 cups unbleached flour or whole wheat, or other wholegrain flour

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder, optional

freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

Simply coat the slices in seasoned flour and pan-fry the slices over medium heat. You can also bake on cookie a sheet for 25-30 minutes at 400°F, turning after 15 minutes.

From EverydayDish.tv

Copyright © Bryanna Clark-Grogan

Lumpia

My favourite foods growing up were barbecued pork, roast pig, oxtail stew, stewed chicken, and countless other recipes for which there are no vegetarian alternatives. That is because Filipino food is predominantly meat, heavily salted, and preferably on a stick. But a few family favourites can be modified, although they will never quite taste the same (as my relatives like to point out.)

“Lumpia” is the Filipino word for egg rolls, and vegetable lumpia is not uncommon. This recipe comes from “Filipino Recipes Made Easy,” by Violeta Noriega:

Lumpiang Gulay (Vegetable Egg Rolls)

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium-sized onion, sliced

1 small yam, peeled and cut into thin 1-inch strips

1 medium-sized potato, peeled, cut into thin 1-inch strips

1/2 lb. green beans, thinly sliced diagonally

1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin 1-inch strips

1/4 part of a whole cabbage, cut thinly into long strips

2 tablespoons soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

thin egg roll (lumpia) wrappers (large, not wonton-size)

vegetable oil for frying egg rolls

In a deep skillet over medium heat, saute garlic in oil until lightly browned. Add onion, stir for 1 minute. Add yam, potato, green beans, carrot, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir and cook in medium heat for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add cabbage. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside and let cool.

If using a package of frozen thin egg roll wrappers, carefully separate wrappers into individual pieces when totally defrosted. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the vegetable mixture in a line along the middle of wrapper. Wrap into rolls securely. Wet edge with a little water to seal. In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, fry egg rolls in vegetable oil until browned on both sides. Place cooked egg rolls upright in a colander to drain excess oil. Serve while warm and crispy with vinegar sauce on the side.

Vinegar Sauce: In a sauce dish, mix 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 cloves minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

Rolling tip: To wrap egg roll wrappers, place a sheet of wrapper on a plate. Diagonally place filling in a line on the middle of wrapper. Fold bottom edge up to the filling to cover it, then fold the right and left sides. Roll securely towards the other edge. Wet edge with a touch of water to make it stick.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

The “black” bottoms of these moist cupcakes is a chocolate cake recipe that most vegans know by heart. This non-vegan cupcake variation is found in none other than the Joy of Cooking (1997). For birthdays, I dip the tops in a thick chocolate glaze and coat with sprinkles, so that the inner heart of cream cheese and chocolate chips is a complete surprise.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

16 cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line muffin pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, beat until smooth:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

Add and beat until smooth:

1 large egg

Stir in:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Whisk together thoroughly in a large bowl:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened nonalkanized cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add:

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir with a rubber spatula just until smooth. Fill the muffin cups about half full. Place a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture in the center of each. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cakey part of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a rack before frosting.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze or Frosting

About 1 1/2 cups

Bring to a boil in a small saucepan:

3/4 cup heavy cream

Remove from the heat and add:

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Stir until most of the chocolate is melted. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir or whisk very gently until completely smooth.

BBQ “Ribz”

This is the only fake meat I would ever dare serve to a carnivore. My husband says it tastes just like a McRib. Amazing results with a minimal effort, and plenty of demonstration is available on both Susan’s website and Everyday Dish.

Susan V’s Barbecued Seitan Ribz

1 cup vital wheat gluten

2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 cup water

2 tablespoons peanut butter, tahini or other nut butter

1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke

1 tablespoon soy sauce

about 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray an 8×8-inch baking dish with canola oil. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the water with the nut butter, Liquid Smoke, and soy sauce and add it to the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well and then knead lightly in the bowl for a couple of minutes.

Put the dough into the baking dish and flatten it so that it evenly fills the pan. Take a sharp knife and cut it into 8 strips; then turn the pan and cut those strips in half to form 16 pieces.

Put it in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. While it’s cooking prepare your grill pan or grill.

Remove it from the oven and carefully re-cut each strip, going over each cut to make sure that the ribz will pull apart easily later. Generously brush the top with barbecue sauce. Take it to the grill pan or grill and invert the whole baking dish onto the grill (or use a large spatula to lift the seitan out, placing it sauce-side down on the grill). Brush the top of the seitan with more sauce.

Watch it closely to make sure that it doesn’t burn. When sufficiently brown on one side, turn over and cook the other side, adding more sauce, if necessary. When done, remove to a platter and cut or pull apart the individual ribs to serve.

Copyright © 2007 Susan Voisin and Fatfree Vegan Kitchen.
All rights reserved.

Melissa’s Sweet Chai

This chai is very sweet, spicy, fragrant, and beautiful to behold in the saucepan. Delicious after a dinner party instead of coffee. Simmer it on the stove first, then strain into a crockpot to keep warm all evening. Per serving:

1 mug vanilla soymilk (1/5 water, optional)

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 cardamom pods, cracked

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 black tea bag

Simmer over medium heat until frothing. Strain into mug.

Panzanella

I learned this recipe from a show called Real Simple. It is croutons with olives and tomatoes, which is a nice salad alternative when you already have enough green things on the plate. I also like it toasted in a pie pan the next day, with a sprinkle more of Parmesan.

5 cups 1-inch whole wheat bread cubes

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup minced parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 large ripe tomatoes cut into wedges

1 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup oil-cured olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup shaved Parmesan

Dry the bread in a 350° F oven on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, parsley, and salt. Fold in the bread, tomatoes, onion, olives, and basil. Toss with the Parmesan. Serve.

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Zucchini Cheddar Bread

No tricks to this bread (although I make a Zucchini Chocolate Cake that you would not believe has tofu.) I make it all through fall and winter, and it is guaranteed no fail, no yeast, and no leftovers. I just made this for Charles’ dad last weekend using muffin tins to cut the baking time to a third, and we paired it with spinach salad and hard-boiled eggs for lunch. I include it exactly as it appears in my kitchen bible, Joy of Cooking (1997):

Zucchini Cheddar Bread

10-12 servings. We make this bread whether or not the garden runneth over! Serve with soup or salad for lunch or add to an assortment in a bread basket. Lovely toasted the next day.

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch (8-cup) loaf pan.

Whisk together in a large bowl:

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Add and toss to separate and coat with flour:

1 cup coarsely shredded zucchini

3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped scallions

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill, or 2 teaspoons dried

Whisk together in another bowl:

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) warm melted unsalted butter or vegetable oil

Add to the flour mixture and mix with a few light strokes just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix; the batter should not be smooth. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.

P.S. No buttermilk? Add a touch of vinegar to 1 cup of milk.

Spinach Salad

1 bag baby spinach leaves

Sunflower seeds

Simulated bacon bits

Annie’s Goddess Dressing

Add ingredients to a large bowl and toss gently with a pair of tongs. The dressing will coat every leaf and wilt the spinach slightly. You can slice or chop hard-boiled eggs to add to the salad, or sometimes I just halve them and serve them on the side. (Try whisking together tahini, apple cider vinegar, sunflower oil and honey for a close-enough approximation of the Goddess.)