Vegan Bahn Mi

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This is a special VB creation (with semi-helpful suggestions from me). Making a good sandwich is an art and he's the resident sandwich specialist. Since I didn't make it, this recipe will be a bit vague. But I think it will be simple enough. OR. You can just go to Lee's Sandwiches. But what's the fun in that?

For this vegan bahn mi, you'll need:

• 1 French baguette
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 1 small daikon radish, shredded
• 1 16-ounce container of extra firm tofu, sliced into half inch pieces
• 2 portabella mushrooms, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 small cucumber, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon grated garlic
• 2 Thai chilies, minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced thinly length-wise
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon white vinegar or rice wine vinegar, divided
• 2 teaspoons sugar (omit if you're using rice wine vinegar)
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegannaise
• salt to taste
• cilantro (with stems) for garnish

Begin by marinating tofu and mushrooms with soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, grated ginger, grated garlic and minced Thai chilies. Season with salt if desired. Set aside for at least 2 hours.

Mix together 1/4 cup vinegar, sugar (if using), shredded daikon, shredded carrots, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place tofu and mushrooms into separate oven-proof containers that are lightly greased with olive oil or canola oil. Be sure to squeeze out any excess liquid. The tofu will take approximately 45 minutes until the edges become crispy and browned. Mushrooms will take about 20 minutes to become cooked. So be sure to place tofu in the oven first before putting the mushrooms in. Check midway through and flip if necessary.

When you're ready to assemble sandwich, slice baguette length-wise in half but leave one end attached. Scoop out excess bread inside. Spread vegannaise on one side. Layer in baked tofu, mushrooms, then sliced cucumbers, carrot/daikon slaw, sliced jalapenos and cilantro.

Zucchini Cakes

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Long time no post. Lots of things happening. Busy. Busy. I haven't had time to cook or to go grocery shopping (or updating the blog, for that matter), so we've been subsisting on zucchinis from VB's co-worker's home garden. We've had a lot of zucchinis. A LOT. This happens to be the best zucchini recipe that I made recently. I like the mild Yukon potatoes paired with the fresh, green zucchinis and the crunch of the celery in these zucchini cakes.

For this zucchini cake, you will need:

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste

Start by grating the zucchinis into a large mixing bowl. Season with salt. Allow the zucchinis to stand and release its moisture, about 15 minutes. In the meantime, peel and cube potatoes and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Insert fork into the potatoes. If fork penetrates easily, the potatoes are done. Otherwise repeat on high for 2 minutes each time until potatoes are done. Rice or mash the potatoes in a separate mixing bowl.

Squeeze the zucchini mixture until the mixture is fairly dry. Mix with mashed potatoes, celery, bread crumbs and salt. Make fist size balls and then flatten into patties.

In a medium nonstick pan, heat up one tablespoon of olive oil. Add patties and gently pan fry until browned on each side, about 3-5 minutes per side. Serve immediately.

Five-Spice Roasted Sweet Potato and Farro with Balsamic Reduction

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Right now, the best deal at Milk Pail is the 99 cents for four pounds of sweet potatoes. FOUR POUNDS! It's not really sweet potato season, but who can pass up on this deal? I did something super simple to bring out the natural warmness and sweetness of the sweet potato. The five-spice powder consists of fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorn. These spices really compliment the warm creaminess of roasted sweet potatoes. The Balsamic reduction brightens and sweetens and the chewy nuttiness of the farro brings out its earthiness. It's got great balance and makes for a simple, nutritious side dish.

For this recipe, you will need:

• 1 medium sweet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and diced to 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 cups cooked farro (if you don't have farro, short grain brown rice would be great here too)
• 1 tablespoon of five-spice powder
• 1 cup Balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste
• chopped green onion or chives for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Toss sweet potato and five spice powder with olive oil. Make sure the sweet potato is well coated with spices and olive oil. Spread out in an oven proof dish and roast for 30-45 minutes. Gently stir at the half way point. The edges should be browned and the center should be creamy. Remove and set aside to cool. Mix roasted sweet potato with cooked farro.

In a medium non-stick pan, bring Balsamic vinegar to boil, then turn heat to medium low so that the mixture is just simmer. Slowly reduce until the vinegar becomes thickened and syrupy. It should be about 1/3 of it's original volume and thick like molasses. When ready to serve, drizzle balsamic reduction on top of roasted sweet potato and farro mixture and garnish with chopped green onion or chives. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hemp Burger

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When I started this blog, my only goal was to make good vegetarian food that I want to eat. That means, making satisfying and soulful real food that happen to be vegetarian -- none of the bird/hippie food that carnivores associate with vegetarian/vegan meals. For the most part, I've avoided ingredients that you can only buy at health food stores and stuck with vegetables that can be found at any supermarket.

Now, that said, I took a big step away from what I usually make with this hemp burger. We bought a big bag of hulled hemp seeds at Costco and I made some patties by mixing the seeds with some tofu. It was a little weird working with hemp seeds. Maybe I've gone crazy, but the patty mixture totally tasted and smelled like egg yolks. That led me to think that the mixture would make good egg-less quiches -- but that's another experiment for another day. This hemp burger had good substance and texture -- super hearty when sandwiched between two slices of whole grain bread. The addition of pepitas made the burger more substantive and added a bit of crunch. Aside from tasting like egg yolks (again, maybe it's just me), the burger is pretty flavor neutral, which means you can add a ton of toppings and condiments.

For this hippie-dippie hemp burger, you'll need:

• 1 cup hulled hemp seeds (I used Bob's Red Mill Hulled Hemp Seed)
• 1 block (14 ounces) firm tofu
• 1 cup cooked white rice (preferably day old, but if you don't have that handy, bread crumbs will do)
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
• 1/4 cup (about 2 stalks) green onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast

To make the burgers, you will need:

• burger buns or bread
• toppings (I used tomatoes and spinach, but the possibilities are endless)
• condiments (I really like whole grain mustard with this)

Mush everything together. Make sure that tofu is totally broken down and well integrated. Refrigerate for 30 minutes so the mixture can set up.

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper. Form about 6 patties and place them on the parchment paper. Spray the top of the patties with canola or olive oil spray (optional for better browning). Bake for 30 minutes. Turn the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The top should be golden brown. Assemble your sandwich and consume.

Avocado, Jicama and Daikon Radish Gazpacho

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I got the idea for this gazpacho from encuentro, a wine bar in Oakland. I thought the idea of making gazpacho out of avocado is so ingenious that I had to try it for myself. For my version of this gazpacho, I added some Daikon radish to balance out the sweetness of the jicama and the creaminess of the avocado. I also added some spinach for its bright green color. The resulting gazpacho had a nice peppery finish -- a little bite in the end.

You will need:

• flesh of 1 ripe avocado
• 1/2 medium jicama, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup Daikon radish, peeled and diced
• juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
• a small handful of spinach (about 1/4 cup packed)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup filtered cold water
• small diced jicama for garnish (optional)
• mint for garnish (optional)
• drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for garnish (optional)

Begin by blending jicama and Daikon radish together in a blender with a cup of water. I thought that the jicama and Daikon radish mixture was too grainy and fibrous at this point, so I passed half of the mixture through a strainer and returned the resulting liquid back into the blender. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend together. If you're making this ahead of time, pour the gazpacho into a prep bowl and cover with plastic wrap. To prevent oxidation, make sure that the plastic wrap is directly on top of and in contact with the gazpacho. Refrigerate and serve cold with optional garnish on top.

Birthday Dinner + Yonanas

Pin It For VB's birthday, I made him dinner comprised of dishes that he had mentioned that he'd like to try. So the mix is a bit... eclectic.

First up, we have a vegan mac n' cheese from Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit. I have to say, I'm not sure that there will ever be a vegan mac n' cheese that's going to come remotely close to the real deal, because real mac n' cheese is incomparably awesome. That said, this vegan mac n' cheese was good for what it is -- good for vegans, lousy for meat eaters.

We also had some ful muddamas from midEATS. You can sort of see it next to the dolmades (more on that later). By the way, did you know it's next to impossible to find some dried or canned fava beans around here? Seriously, I had to go to 4 stores and finally found them at Rose International Market, our local Middle Eastern market. I ended up adapting the recipes using dried fava beans -- turned out alright, a bit al dente but flavorful and pretty good.

Finally, I made some dolmades after we bought a jar of grape leaves at the farmer's market. I need a bit of practice wrapping the grape leaves tighter, but this turned out totally delicious -- by far the best item of the night. The recipe came from Tyler Florance (I know...) and it is a winner, if not a bit time consuming.

For dessert, we tried "frozen yogurt" made by Yonanas 902 Ice Cream Treat Maker. It's a bit of a misnomer, because technically, Yonanas makes mushed up frozen yogurt out of bananas. It's a pretty cool idea -- it grinds frozen bananas and other fruit into a mixture that has the texture and consistency of frozen yogurt. VB and I were both stunned that the product looks just like frozen yogurt. However, the product can turn a bit slimy (like mushed up bananas) after the mixture melts a little.

As for the taste, we added some frozen peaches and raspberries to the mixture. But this product is definitely for the banana lover in you, because even though it looks just like frozen yogurt, it still tastes like bananas. Also, I think there were some human errors involved -- the product required ripe bananas and mine were not quite as ripe. I wonder if I had riper bananas, the end result would be sweeter and of a better mouth feel and consistency. That means, we have to try this one again sometime soon! With ripe bananas, next time. I do think that this can potentially be a great product for vegans and others who want to enjoy a frozen treat without dairy or artificial products.

Braised Seitan My Way

Pin It As I mentioned in my last post, our earlier batch of braised seitan didn't come out the way we wanted. Seitan is actually a very easily manipulable protein -- it takes on flavors easily and it's impossible to overcook it. I think the previous batch didn't come out right because the recipe we used didn't use enough flavors or the right flavors, resulting in a bland, overly sweet product. Well, I'm not making that mistake again. For this braised seitan recipe, I'm adding lots of aromatics, herbs and spices. The result is anything but bland.

For this braised seitan recipe, you will need:

• 18 ounces of cooked seitan (store bought or you can make my seitan recipe but be sure to shape the dough into palm sized chops)
• 2 yellow onions, medium diced
• 3 carrots, medium chopped
• 3 celery stalks, medium chopped
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 Bay leaves
• 3/4 bottle of red wine (I used Trader Joe's Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried onion powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place seitan, onions, carrots, celery, thyme, rosemary, Bay leaves into a oven proof baking dish. Make sure there's enough room for liquid. Combine red wine, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder and onion powder. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture over seitan. Cover with aluminum foil and braise for 30 minutes.

Remove and flip the seitan. Cover and braise for another 30 minutes. Remove. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Return dish to the oven, uncovered, and roast for 20 minutes. Flip the seitan and roast for another 20 minutes. Check occasionally to see that there's enough liquid in the dish. You don't want to clean up a burnt-on mess.

Remove seitan. By now, the seitan should look deep brown and developed a little bit of a crust. It's virtually impossible to get the burned crusty bits on seitan like you can with real meat, so don't expect it to have quite the same crust. You now have braised seitan!

One serving suggestion is to slice this up and make a cheesesteak sandwich by sauteing seitan with some onions and then jam it into toasted French bread with some Cheez Whiz. Mmmm... Cheez Whiz (the spelling suggests industrial strength orange deliciousness). OR. You can use some vegan soy cheddar instead. But, as far as I know, you only live once -- so bring on the Cheez Whiz! FRFR3MD7WGCU

Vegan Steak and Potatoes

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We made some braised seitan that didn't come out the way we intended. It was made with a ton of onions and turned out just a bit too sweet. In order to avoid eating it for days, I decided to shake it up a little and turn the seitan into something different. I lightly pan fried the seitan with olive oil until the edges are browned and then I topped it with some vegan shiitake mushroom and red wine sauce. Voila! It looks just like a restaurant steak with steak sauce. I paired the steak with some sweet potato fries.

For this vegan steak topped with mushroom sauce, you will need:

• 16 ounces seitan steak (store bought or you can make my seitan recipe but be sure to shape the dough into fist sized chunks)
• 2 pints fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, minced
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced
• 5 tablespoons butter substitute (I use Earth Balance), divided
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh cracked pepper

To begin, heat up olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter substitute in a non-stick pan. Gently pan fry both sides of the seitan until browned. Set aside. In a medium sauce pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter substitute, then add minced thyme and rosemary. Stir and mix in sliced mushrooms. Cook gently until mushrooms are softened, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in flour until all the mushrooms get sticky and flour browns a bit at the bottom. Pour in red wine and soy sauce. Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Bring mixture to simmer and continue to cook until it thickens, about 2-5 minutes. Spoon over the top of pan fried seitan steaks and serve.

Mystery Produce of the Week: Opo Squash

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Also known as hulu (葫蘆), opo squash is popular in Chinese dishes and often consumed in soup or stuffed with meat and steamed. It is prepared by peeling its skin and scooping out its seeds (although the seeds can be edible if the squash is fresh and young). It has a mild, sweet flavor. When cooked, it is delicate and soft without being mushy or mealy.

Since I can't stuff it with meat, I made soup. The challenge here is to make a flavorful soup without using chicken stock. Since this squash is very mild, it can be a bit flavorless without chicken stock. Instead of substituting with vegetable stock, I decided to boil it with water and shredded cabbage to add sweetness and some vegetarian chicken broth powder (still haven't figured out what that is exactly). I cooked the cabbage low and slow until it almost disintegrated in the soup and then added the squash and simmered for another 15 minutes.

Finally, to make sure it has some taste, I added.... bitter melon greens. Yes, those taste bitter. But at least you can't say the soup is bland! I like the fact that the bitter melon greens added a bit of depth to the soup, but I can see why some people won't find it palatable. Bitter melon is... an acquired taste. Frankly, I'm even not sure that I've acquired it yet. You can always leave it out or add some other dark greens.

Green(s) Pie

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This pie didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Because it wasn't even supposed to be a pie! I was planning on making turnovers, but the pastry was not cooperating on a hot, humid day. So instead of struggling with stuffing and folding a dozen turnovers, I made one pie and patted myself on the back.

I stuffed this pie with a lot of nutritious greens and added aromatics like sage, thyme, onion and garlic. I also mixed in some cannellini bean puree that held the veggies together and gave the filling a creamy texture. The crust was golden, tender and flaky. Although I didn't successfully make turnovers, this was nevertheless a success.

You'll need:

• 2 bunches dark greens (I used kale and rainbow chard, but you can also use spinach, mustard greens, and collard greens), tough stems removed and roughly chopped
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 3 sprigs sage, chopped
• 4 sprigs thyme, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional egg wash (1 beaten egg with 1 tablespoon water)
• 1 portion pastry, recipe below

For the pastry, you'll need:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cubed and chilled
• 3/4 cup vegan butter substitute (Earth Balance for me), cubed and chilled
• 1 teaspoon salt
• up to 5 tablespoons ice cold water

To begin, mix all purpose flour, chilled vegan butter spread, vegetable shortening salt until the mixture has a wet sand consistency. You can use food processor and pulse a few times or you can use your hands and break up the fat into finer granules. Mix in water, one tablespoon at a time. If you're using a food processor, add ice water one tablespoon at a time while pulsing. The dough should barely come together. You probably only need 2-3 tablespoons of water. When in doubt, retrain from adding more water. It's easy to add more water, but impossible to take it out. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill.

In a large pot fitted with a lid, begin heating up olive oil over medium heat. Add red pepper flakes to the oil. When pepper flakes start to sizzle, mix in diced onion and cook until translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Mix in garlic, sage and thyme. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add greens. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well together and cover for a 5-8 minutes over medium low heat. The greens should be just wilted and still bright green. Remove and set aside. Once cooled, add mixture into a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Wrapping the mixture in cheese cloth, squeeze out any excess liquid and place the mixture in mixing bowl. Add cannellini beans to the food processor and pulse until beans are mashed. Mix together the bean puree with vegetable mixture and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place chilled dough onto a floured surface. Divide the dough in half and wrap up one half in plastic wrap and place it back in the refrigerator. Roll out the other half into a round disc 2 inches larger than the pie pan. Mold the dough into the pie pan and trim off any excess dough. (If you're working on a hot and humid day or the dough is too wet, try rolling the dough out in between two pieces of plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will help you to roll out the dough evenly without sticking and make the transfer to pie pan a lot easier.) Dock the dough with fork and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Fill the baked pie crust with vegetable mixture. Spread it out evenly with a spatula. Roll out the other piece of dough into a round disc big enough to cover the pie pan. Cut out some vent holes in the middle of the disc. Cover the pie with the dough. Crimp the edges by pushing down gently.  Brush with egg wash (omit if you want to keep this vegan). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until browned. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

  

Black Eye Peas Salad

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This black eye peas salad is not the usual Southern side dish. I took a Mediterranean spin on this dish and added sweet paprika and olives. The result was fresh and delicious with creamy beans and crunchy veggies. And it's so quick and easy to make.

You'll need:

• 1 cup dried black eye peas (or 1 15-ounce canned black eye peas, drain and rinsed)
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 25 to 30 black olives, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• juice from 1 lemon
• salt to taste

A note on cooking dried black eye peas: I like cooking my beans with my trusty pressure cooker. It cooks beans perfectly without all the soaking and boiling for hours. I use a Fagor Duo 8QT. Pressure Cooker and place it on the high setting for 10 minutes for perfectly cooked black eye peas. But if you don't have a pressure cooker, you should soak black eye peas overnight and boil in a medium pot with a lot of water gently for 1 to 1.5 hours. I know... it's a pain in the butt. Makes me even more thankful for a pressure cooker.

Once you cook the black eye peas, toss together with the remaining ingredients. Let stand in room temperature for 30 minutes before serving or refrigerating.

Vegan Shepard's Pie

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A vegan Shepard's pie sounds like an oxymoron. A traditional Shepard's pie would contain ground lamb. I mean, otherwise, it's not really a Shepard's pie, right? In any event, for my vegan version of a Shepardless pie, I used pearl barley to replace the ground meat and to add texture and bulk to the pie. The result was healthy and flavorful. And it wasn't that hard to make!

For the mashed potato top layer, you'll need:

• 3 pounds potato (or 5 large Russet potatoes, I used baby potatoes here), peeled and quartered
• 1 cup soy milk
• 3 tablespoons butter substitute
• 3 tablespoons non-diary cream cheese or sour cream (I used Toffuti sour cream)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated soy cheddar
• salt to taste

 For the bottom layer, you will need:

• 1 cup pearl barley
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• ground black pepper
• salt to taste

To a large pot, add peeled and diced potatoes. Add enough water to the pot so that the potatoes are completely submerged. Cover. Turn heat up high and bring water to boil. Once boiling, set timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, check the potatoes by piercing them with a sharp knife. If potatoes can be pieced through easily, then they are done. Otherwise, continue to boil and check again in 5 minutes. Repeat until potatoes are done. Drain. While the potatoes are still hot, pass them through a ricer or a food mill. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

To a large pot, add 4 cups water and pearl barley. Cover and bring to boil. Turn down to simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until pearl barley is cooked. The grain should be edible but should still be chewy. Drain and set aside.

In a medium pot, heat up olive oil. Add diced onion, carrots and celery. Stir and allow to cook until onion becomes translucent, about 8 minutes. Add minced garlic and thyme. Stir for a few minutes. Add soy sauce, vegetable stock, and black pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in frozen peas and cooked pearl barley.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Pour vegetable and barley mixture into a 3 quart pan. Spread mixture to the edge evenly. Spread mashed potatoes on top. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until top is browned. Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Tomato Curried Lentils (Daal)

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Long time no blog! It's a classic case of life getting in the way of hobbies. I've been busy and also somewhat uninspired to cook. So. I'm going to try my best to get back in the kitchen and get inspired again.

Here, we have a simple, flavorful meal full of protein and fiber. I made some classic Indian curried lentils with rice pilaf made of brown Basmati rice and wild rice. This recipe is adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day. I added more spice to make this even more flavorful.

You'll need:

• 1 medium onion, medium diced
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
• 4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 dried chilies
• 1 fresh Thai chile
• 1 15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and diced
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• salt to taste
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Begin boiling water along with dried chilies and lentils in a medium pot. After water reaches boil, reduce to simmer and gently cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until lentils are slightly undercooked. Remove chilies, drain and set aside. Add onion, ginger and Thai chilies to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.

In a medium pot, heat up vegetable oil. Add cumin seeds. Once seeds begin to pop, add onion ginger mixture. Turn heat to low and gently cook until onion becomes translucent. Stir occasionally. Add turmeric and stir. Stir in lentils, diced tomatoes and garam masala and bring mixture to boil. Season with salt. Reduce to simmer and cover. If mixture becomes too dry, add 1/2 cup of water each time and stir. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until tomato breaks down and mixture thickens. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice or roti.

Cauliflower and Leek Pasta

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Why do we keep buying cauliflower? I don't even like them! Anyway, our orange cauliflower was in the fridge staring back at me. So I had to cook them. Something simple maybe?

You will need:

• 1 head of cauliflower (I used orange cauliflower), tough stems removed
• 1 medium leek, white part only, sliced thin
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter or butter substitute (I used Earth Balance)
• 1 tablespoon apple cinder vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• chopped parsley for garnish
• 1 pound whole wheat pasta

In a medium pot, melt butter or butter substitute with olive oil. Add leek and garlic. Saute gently until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add cauliflower. Stir. Add dry white wine and vinegar. Bring mixture to boil and then turn down to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil. Season with salt. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain. Toss pasta with cauliflower mixture and toasted pine nuts. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

I think the orange cauliflower was sweeter than regular. I like it more than regular cauliflower. But it's been years since I've had a regular white cauliflower that I struggle to remember what they actually taste like. VB thinks that I actually like cauliflower but for some unknown reason have denied that fact most of my adult life. Maybe I just need something to hate on. I mean, I can't like to eat everything, can I? Can I?

Oh, remember kohlrabi? We liked it so much that we bought it again at the farmers' market. This time, I peeled them and sliced them thinly along with a couple of granny smith apples. Then I tossed them simply with some vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. It's fresh, slightly sweet, crunchy and really delicious as a side salad/slaw.

Green Tea Pot Stickers

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I've been feeling uninspired. I've been cooking, but I didn't feel particularly excited about anything. I'm trying to cook my way out of the funk, so I tried something a little different -- green tea pot stickers. I mixed some green tea powder in the dumpling dough, which adds fragrance and a little bitterness that complements the bok choy filling very well. I tried steaming them, but learned (the hard way) that bamboo steaming baskets need to lined with cheese cloth, NOT parchment paper, unless you want puddles of water under your dumplings. But thankfully, I was able to save the dumplings by quickly pan frying them.

For these green tea pot stickers, you will need:

• 5 bok choys, rinsed and cleaned
• 4 ounces vegetarian ham (or extra firm tofu)
• 1 pint shiitake mushrooms (or wood ear mushroom)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 portion green tea dough, recipe below

For the green tea dough, you will need:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup warm water (about 160 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons green tea powder
• pinch of salt

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, green tea powder and salt. Slowly pour in warm water and mix well with flour. Knead gently for a few minutes until the dough comes together. Set aside for 15 to 30 minutes to allow the dough to relax.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Quickly blanch boy for 30 seconds. Remove and allow to cool. Add bok choy to food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Place finely chopped bok choy into a cheese cloth and wring out any excess liquid. Place bok choy in a large mixing bowl. Add vegetarian ham and mushrooms into food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Mix together with bok choy, soy sauce, sesame oil, grated ginger, and white pepper. Adjust seasoning with salt, if necessary.

Divide the dough into about 36 equal pieces. Roll out each piece to thin rounds. Add about 1 tablespoon of bok choy mixture onto the dough. Fold dough over and pinch to shut. Steam and serve. Dough will turn deep green after cooking. If you want to pan fry them, place dumpling into a hot, greased non-stick pan fitted with a lid. Pour in enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover and allow dumplings to steam until water completely evaporates. Repeat 2 more times and serve.

Mystery Produce of the Week: King Trumpet and Pink Oyster Mushrooms

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There's a mushroom stand at our local farmers' market. We passed by it many times and never bought anything interesting until recently. Based on nothing more than just how they looked, we bought these king trumpet mushrooms and pink oyster mushrooms. I decided that I want to highlight the mushrooms by making something simple and savory. So I made something really similar to the healing bowl and topped it some sauteed mushrooms.

I didn't think the king trumpet mushrooms were anything special. Sure, they were meaty and tasty, but pretty unremarkable as far as mushrooms go. They tasted like mushrooms. Just regular mushrooms. That cannot be said about pink oyster mushrooms, which were pungent in a distinctive way. When I cut them up, they had a woody, slightly astringent smell that was a bit unpleasant. But that did not compare with the way they smell when cooked.

After struggling a bit with finding the right words to describe them, VB said, "They smell like the zoo. A zoo with lots and lots of monkeys." And, yes, that was exactly what they smelled like -- monkeys. A big, happy family of stinky, gross monkeys. It's pretty rare for me to find things that I won't eat and this was really close. VB found them downright disgusting. So it's pretty safe to say that we won't be buying anymore pink oyster mushrooms in the near future.

Zucchini and Artichoke Farro with Kale Pesto

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I think I might be addicted to kale pesto. I mean, I really liked kale before I discovered its potential as pesto, but I find the pesto to be so versatile. I added it to some pasta and tossed it with some asparagus and tomato. That was delicious. This time, I added kale pesto to some nutty, chewy farro and tossed it with some garlic sauteed zucchini, marinated artichoke hearts, chopped parsley, and some lemon juice. So good and such an easy and healthy meal.

Check out my kale pesto recipe while I think up other dishes in which to use the pesto.

Mystery Produce of the Week: Fresh Fenugreek

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Last week, we went back to our local farmer's market. As we strolled through produce stands, I was immediately drawn to this leafy herb. It was very pungent smelling, like I just walked into an Indian restaurant. The vendor told me that this is fenugreek and that we can simply sautee the tender leaf tops, but he also warned that it's "a little bitter."

I'm not easily deterred, so we bought it anyway. Turns out, it wasn't that bitter. I made an aloo methi with the tender leaves and served some homemade roti with it. The stems of fenugreek are really tough and definitely not edible. Despite the pungent smell, it really mellowed out after cooking.

Would I buy this again? Maybe. But only if I figure out what else to do with it besides this aloo methi (although that was pretty good).

Vegan Moussaka

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My first vegan moussaka attempt ended in failure. The problem was making a good vegan bechamel sauce without it tasting so soy-y. I think this time I managed to make a decent vegan bechamel sauce with arrowroot powder, which gave it the thick, saucy consistency that I was looking for. Also I cut back on the use of soy products so that it wouldn't taste like... well, soy products.

For this (not so photogenic) vegan moussaka, you will need:

• 3 medium eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 medium yellow onion, medium diced
• 1 spring fresh oregano, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pint brown button mushrooms, quartered
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing
• salt to taste
• 1 portion vegan bechamel sauce, recipe below

For vegan bechamel sauce, you will need:

• 5 tablespoons butter substitute (I used Earth Balance)
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder (if arrowroot powder is hard to find, use 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour)
• 1 1/2 cups non-dairy, non-soy milk (I used almond milk, but there is a variety of options on the market, like coconut milk, rice milk, and hemp milk)
• 4 tablespoons non-dairy cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• salt to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Rub sliced eggplants on both sides with olive oil and place on baking sheet. Alternatively, you can also spray both sides of sliced eggplant with non-stick spray. Roast for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a medium pot, heat up 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Sautee diced onion until translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and minced oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and stir until softened, about 3 minutes. Add ground allspice, ground cloves and ground cinnamon. Stir a few times. Add vegetable stock, cannellini beans and dice tomatoes. Season with salt. Turn heat up high until mixture boils. Turn heat back down to medium and allow it to boil, uncovered, until mixture reduces and thickens, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

In a saucepan, melt 5 tablespoons butter substitute over medium heat. Sprinkle in arrowroot powder or all purpose flour and whisk vigorously until all the dry ingredient is incorporated and the mixture thickens. While whisking, slowly pour in non-dairy, non-soy milk. Bring sauce to boil. Turn down the heat and allow mixture to simmer. Whisk in non-dairy cream cheese and freshly grated nutmeg. Allow mixture to simmer for 5 minutes while whisking.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray baking dish with non-stick spray. Line the bottom of the dish with eggplant slices. Pour about half of the bean mixture on top. Spread out evenly. Top with another layer of eggplant slices. Pour and spread the remainder of the bean mixture. Top with another layer of eggplant slices. Pour vegan bechamel sauce over the top and spread it out evenly. Bake for 35 minutes. Broil on high for an additional 3 to 5 minutes to brown the top. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Mock Lamb Curry

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Sorry about the lack of posts recently. I'm back from a short trip and ready to get cooking again! Today, we have mock lamb curry from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. This sort of became my go-to cookbook for vegetarian dishes with some spice. I made minor changes to the recipe by substituting Tofutti Sour Cream with a squeeze of lemon for yogurt and turned this into a vegan dish. It turned out really flavorful with spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne. I paired it simply with couscous with chopped green onion and mint. As for the "lamb," it's actually cubed seitan.