Dal

This is an Indian dish made with lentils ("dal" means lentils.)  I actually used the Yellow Split Pea Dal recipe from The Vegan Table, but used brown lentils.  It also has Indian spices, onion, garlic, and tomatoes.  Recently, I made a similar dal, but added Japanese sweet potatoes and garam masala powder (following a recipe from The Happy Herbivore as a guide.)

This recipe is so easy and makes the house smell good.  I've also let it cook in a slow cooker, but stove top is easy, too.

The tofu in this picture was marinated in Thai Tom-Yam soup mix.  It was okay.

Nacho Taco Salad

I've been cooking a lot, either from recipes or making things up, but haven't had time to blog.  I wanted to make this nacho taco salad for a long time.  It's from page 94 of Robin Robertson's Vegan on the Cheap.

You cook a can of black beans and a can of pinto beans (rinsed & drained) with salsa and extra chili powder.  Cook on medium for about 8 minutes.

Make some "Cheezee Sauce" (page 36 of Vegan on the Cheap) which has nutritional yeast, cornstarch, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, etc.  I think the mustard wasn't necessary.  There are other recipes for "cheese sauce" I think I'll try later.  Some use cashews or silken tofu.

Layer tortilla chips (or rice), bean mixture, cheezee sauce, shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, and other toppings as desired.  We used red onion, cilantro, avocado, and canned Rotel tomatoes.  Lime wedges on the side are a good Mexican touch.

This would also be good just using canned refried beans, Rotel tomatoes, store-bought guacamole.

various

Impromptu lunch with eggplant (nasu) roasted in a Japanese store-bought onion dressing; pinto beans and mushrooms simmered in sauteed onion, garlic, curry powder, Asian chili sauce, and cilantro; steamed kale.

Quick dinner with black beans and cornmeal (just mixed with water) from a neighbor, carrots, pickled red peppers, and a wasabi-seaweed sprinkle (I think it's vegan!)  Rounded out with mujicha (barley tea) and toast.



Tofu Scramble

After reading much talk of tofu scrambles, I finally tried it.  I used Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's recipe in The Vegan Table as a guide, and used what I had on hand.

Basically, you take some extra-firm tofu (not silken), drained and pressed.  It crumbles easily into a bowl.  Then saute whatever garlic, onion, and veggies you like, and add some turmeric for a yellow color (like scrambled eggs.)  I wanted an iron-rich meal, so I cooked it in my cast-iron skillet with chickpeas, mushrooms, tomato sauce, cilantro.  And I think I just squirted in some yellow mustard instead of turmeric powder.  Hot from the skillet, it was amazingly delicious and nourishing.

Strawberry Broccoli Salad

My friend Shannon gave me this recipe after she realized it was vegan.  I plan to make it soon.  Looks so healthy:

 

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cauliflower (I just added more broccoli)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
5 fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 slivered almonds (they taste best toasted - yum!)
1/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette (I made my own with balsamic vinegar, all-fruit raspberry jam, salt, pepper, and garlic, but you can use any recipe you like or store bought)

Mix everything together in a large bowl. Eat right away or cover and chill for a couple hours before serving for best flavor.

road food

These are some "omiyage" (souvenir) foods I picked up on the road trip to Nagano.

Clockwise from top: pepper-infused nori (seaweed), sweet giant red beans, pickled & seasoned (in miso?) cucumbers, green mountain herb, seasoned hijiki (a sea vegetable). 

Center: mushroom-miso-veggie mix.

Good vegan snackin'!

Amazake Bars

Yummy and warm.  And I shared them with a bunch of my neighbors.

I bought this amazake at a farmer's market.  It looks a bit like a block of tofu, but it's made of fermented rice (so there's a sake taste to it.)  You can blend it in warm water for the traditional drink, or use it in desserts and smoothies.  It has a bit of alcohol, so I'm not sure why the Wikipedia article says it's used for babyfood!  Anyway, the taste is unusual, and Nene (pictured above) wants me to try more foods from her home country.

I found a few amazake dessert recipes online, and got my inspiration from Swell Vegan's Cardamom-Peach Amazake Scones.

I used my basic bar recipe, using pureed winter squash and amazake & warm water (all blended together) as my puree.  My puree was a little over 2 cups, so these were really moist.  The spices were 1 tsp. each of cardamom and ginger, and a pinch of ground cloves.  I also added a splash of almond extract and some chopped dried apricots.