Chard Veggie Wraps

Aren't these beautiful? I actually did not think of this recipe. I got the recipe from here, courtesy of The Hippy Gourmet. However, I did change a couple things: used lime juice instead of lemon juice, added strips of fried tofu and used green instead of red cabbage. I also made a peanut chilli dipping sauce to go with this. Although it all looks like mush, the filling includes carrots, cabbage, tofu, sprouts, tofu and mango slices. Yum, yum!

Aloo Gobi Aur Mater (Cauliflower With Potatoes And Peas)

I really couldn't decide if I wanted to make Indian or Chinese today, so I made both. Man, I am so prolific! I had a huge head of cauliflower which had been sitting in my fridge for a while, so I definitely needed to use it up. I also had a block of tofu which was in danger of going sour, so it made sense to make both dishes. This particular dish was made entirely of veggies and could easily be a side dish as well as a main dish if served with rice. This recipe makes a lot of food, but tastes even better as leftovers when the flavors have been given a chance to meld overnight.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 whole dried red chilies
1 large onion, finely diced
1/2 of large head of cauliflower, cut into small flowerettes
4 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large tomato, finely diced
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas

Heat the vegetable oil on medium heat in a large pot and add the cumin seeds and dried red chilies. Let toast for about 2 minutes and then add the onion. Saute for 4 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients except the peas and mix well. Let mixture cook for 5 minutes on medium high heat. Add the peas and reduce heat to low. Cover pot and let simmer on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender. Yield: 6-8 servings

Szechuan Tofu With Mushrooms

Does this dish look familiar? It should! It's very similar to my Sweet and Spicy Tofu With Mushrooms recipe. The only thing that's really different is the sauce. I guess you'll have to try both recipes to see which flavor you prefer. I wouldn't consider this authentic Chinese food (i.e. ketchup?!), but it sure is tasty! Next time I will add some broccoli to give this dish some color and crunchy texture.

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 15-ounce package firm tofu, drained and pressed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons agave nectar (or honey)
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
4 green onions, ends trimmed and finely diced (leave some for garnish)
10 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in water and diced (stems removed)
8 cloves garlic, minced

Heat oil in large non-stick pan on medium-high heat and add tofu cubes. Lightly fry the tofu (turning gently every couple minutes) for a few minutes until lightly brown. While the tofu fries, in a medium bowl mix together the sauce ingredients (water through ginger) and set aside. Drain tofu on paper towels and remove oil from the pan, leaving only about 1 tablespoon. To the pan add the garlic, green onions and mushrooms and saute for 4 minutes on medium heat. Add the tofu back in the pan along with the sauce. Sauce will bubble and thicken quickly. Stir until ingredients are heated through and sauce is at desired thickness. Yield: 4 servings

Three Bean Veggie Chili With Whole Wheat Cornbread

Oh yes, I not only bring you one recipe but TWO today. OK, so the chili today isn't really chili in the traditional sense but it has beans and a tomato-ey base, so it's good enough for me. Also, one can't really eat chili without some cornbread to dunk in it. Both recipes are oh-so-yummy and oh-so-vegan. Try to buy canned stuff that has either reduced sodium or no-salt-added labels. If you want a milder chili, deseed the jalapeño pepper before dicing or omit it altogether. This dinner will fill you up and leave a stupid grin on your face.

Three Bean Veggie Chili:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large onion, finely diced
1/2 large green bell pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeño, finely diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 12-ounce can roasted red pepper, drained and diced
1 15-ounce can corn, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup vegetarian baked beans (with sauce)
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery salt

Saute the garlic, onions, green bell pepper, chili powder, cumin and oregano in the vegetable oil in a large pot on medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add everything else and give it a good stir. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Yield: 8 servings

Whole Wheat Cornbread:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan. Combine all the dry ingredients (cornmeal through salt) into a large bowl. Stir in all the remaining wet ingredients. Pour the mixture into the pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Alternatively, you could bake in a muffin pan for about 20 minutes. Yield: 8 large "pie slices" or 12 muffins

Coconut Dal Makhani

Yay for trying new things! I'm 2/2 this week. I've never cooked with lentils before, but after some encouragement from a friend I came up with this recipe. This recipe wasn't difficult, but it was a little tedious because I started with dried lentils, which requires some pre-soaking and then a long simmer time, so keep that in mind if you try this out. Dal Makhani is an Indian dish and it traditionally uses heavy cream and butter. In trying to keep up with my veganism, I omitted both and used Earth Balance spread and coconut milk. This has a soup-like consistency and some great spicy and dynamic flavors. I made some whole wheat rotis to go along with it.

1 1/2 cups dried black lentils, soaked in water overnight (or soaked in boiled water for 2-3 hours) and rinsed off thoroughly
5 cups water
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon Earth Balance spread
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 large tomato, finely diced
1 cup light coconut milk (or 1/2 cup regular coconut milk + 1/2 cup water)

In a large pot add the soaked lentils, water, chili powder, salt, and ginger and mix well. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 1 hour. In a medium sauce pan melt the spread and oil together on medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let seeds toast until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add garlic, turmeric, garam masala, onion and tomato and let cook for about 6-8 minutes. Add this onion/tomato mixture into the pot containing the lentils and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for an additional 20 minutes. In a blender or food processor, blend together the coconut milk and 2 cups of the lentil mixture. This mixture should still be slightly lumpy. Add this back into the pot containing the remaining lentils and stir. Serve with fresh naan or roti. Yield: 4 large bowls

Hearty Veggie Couscous

My first ever experience cooking with couscous and it was a success! Just -look- at the deliciousness! I think maybe couscous would be the result if rice and spaghetti had babies...lots of them. Anyways, thanks to the garbanzo beans and cashews this side dish can stand alone as a filling main dish. Also, this dish pulls together pretty fast since couscous takes no time to cook. I look forward to incorporating it into more recipes in the future!

1 tablespoon Earth Balance spread
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 green onions, trimmed and chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 cup diced mushrooms
1/2 cup canned garbanzo beans
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups uncooked whole-wheat couscous
1/2 cup chopped cashews

In a large saucepan melt the spread and oil together on medium heat. Add in the garlic and seasoning and saute until garlic is fragrant (2-3 minutes). Add both types of onions and cook for another couple minutes then add the tomato, mushrooms and beans. Let cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally and then pour in the water and salt. Turn the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the couscous, stir until well incorporated, remove pan from heat and cover pan with lid. Let sit for about 5 minutes until couscous absorbs all the liquid. Stir in the cashews and serve. Yield: 3-4 servings

Clean Your Pantry Veggie Stew

I wasn't actually planning on posting something today, but I was inspired by a friend to make some comfort food and this is what I came up with. As you can tell by the title, I literally opened my fridge and cupboard and picked random things to put in this soup. I was pleasantly surprised by the great flavor! The proportions and ingredients are pretty flexible. This makes quite a bit, but it's so yummy and healthy that it will likely be gobbled up quickly anyways. As a side note, I need a new camera (that stupid black smudge in the corner is becoming irritating) and I need new dishware to display my beautiful creations in. I hear IKEA has a new catalog out...

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups water
1 vegetarian bouillon cube
1 large tomato, roughly chopped (I used several grape tomatoes though)
1-15 ounce can yellow corn, drained (try to get the no-added-salt variety)
1-15 ounce can garbonzo (chickpeas) beans, drained
1-15 ounce can green beans, drained
1 cup vegetarian baked beans (with sauce, don't drain)
1 vegan sausage, diced
3 cups raw spinach leaves

In a large cooking pot, heat the oil on medium high heat and add the garlic, onions and spices. Saute for 3-5 minutes until onions are translucent then add the rest of the ingredients except the sausage and spinach. Bring the stew to a boil then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sausage and let simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes. The broth should thicken slightly. Take the pot off the heat and fold in the spinach until the leaves have wilted. Yield: 6 hearty servings

Lightly Breaded Tofu with Mushroom Gravy

So I'm usually a fan of powerful flavors, but this delicious recipe is very subtle. I don't even know how to categorize what type of cuisine it is because it's an amalgam of a few different flavors. You can adjust the spiciness by adding more cayenne pepper to the flour mixture, but I appreciated the mildness. I think the gravy itself could go well with a few different dishes, but that's a topic for another post.

1-15 ounce package firm tofu, drained and pressed
2 cups vegetable broth (or use a veggie bouillon cube + water)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Slice the tofu into medium sized cubes. Soak the cubes in the vegetable broth and set aside (do this step before slicing any of the veggies to allow for more time for marinating). In a shallow pan mix together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and spices. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Drain the tofu and save 1 cup of the broth. Toss the tofu cubes in the flour mixture until fully coated and tap off excess flour (save 1 1/2 tablespoons of this mixture). Fry the cubes in the oil until lightly brown on all sides. Drain the tofu on some paper towels and set aside. In a clean pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the leftover oil on medium heat and add the garlic and green onions. Cook for a couple minutes and add the mushrooms, 1 cup of the vegetable broth and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the flour mixture. Let this sauce come to a boil and then simmer on medium heat until thickened ( about 3-5 minutes). Pour this sauce over the tofu and serve with brown rice. Yield: 4 servings