Tag Archives: dairy-free

Jul 22 2012
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Cooking, Main Dishes

Panang Curry!

Curry is kind of awesome. This is a rich veggie curry rich with veggies. Is that redundant? Anyways, we like curry and will eat it whenever we get the chance so this is an easier version you can make if you’ve got a fridge full of veggies like we often do. You’ll need the following:

1.5 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots/green onions
2 tablespoons minced ginger OR 1/2 tbsp powdered
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 generous tablespoons of peanut butter
1 finger sized piece of turmeric OR 2 tsp powdered
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste or to taste
1 cup water
1 can of coconut milk (2 cups of almond milk for a lighter version, just add 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut for flavor)
juice and zest from 1 lime

1 tomato, diced
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar or molasses or to taste
1 14-ounce package firm tofu, drained, cut into cubes (optional)
1 sweet potato or white potato, cubed
1 bunch green veg, ripped or cut into bite size pieces (I used broccoli and a green bell pepper because I had them but kale works well too)

salt to taste

You can also add mushrooms, sliced carrots, or other veggies
1/2 cup roasted and salted cashews or peanuts (or cilantro for a lighter version) for a garnish


Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Cook shallots, ginger, turmeric and garlic until tender. Stir in the cumin and curry paste until fragrant. We like ours spicy so I added some red peppers.

Whisk in water, coconut milk, lime juice and zest, and brown sugar and let simmer. Season to taste with salt and adjust the seasonings.

Add tofu, potato and mushrooms if you’re using them and let cook on low heat covered for 20 minutes, or until the potato begins to soften. Then add the green veggies and cook until you like the texture.

Garnish with cashews/peanuts/cilantro and serve as is or with rice or quinoa. Using almond milk instead of coconut milk makes  a huge dent in the number of calories added from fat (even compared with light coconut milk) and makes the flavors more intense. We hope you get to try it!

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Jul 21 2012
7 Comments
Recipes

I Love Freeze-For-Whenever Olive Black-eyed Pea Burgers!

I’ve been battling mooshy burgers since I started making vegan burgers. I’ve found that if they’re firm enough, they’re often too dry. If they’re moist enough, they moosh out the side of your bun. What is a girl to do?

I decided to experiment with making frozen patties because it seems to work so well for all those store bought brands. I assembled the following:

1 cup of black-eyed peas, soaked OR 1 can of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup of sliced olives

1/4 cup of mushrooms, chopped (optional)

1/4 onion, chopped

1/4 cup bread crumbs (I chopped some gluten-free bread in my food processor)

1 tbsp onion salt

1 tsp garlic salt

2 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp coriander

2 tbsp corn oil

red pepper flakes and salt to taste

If you’re using dried beans, take a moment to microwave them in water 3-4 times at 2 minute intervals to soften them slightly. We put all the ingredients into a bowl and I set my expert moosher (that’s Brent) to power moosh. It wasn’t long before it was looking and smelling like burger material so I started scooping the mixture into some plastic freezer safe containers.

I made sure that the patties were compacted and of a relatively uniform thickness, about 1/2-3/4 inch. I put a piece of plastic wrap over it and then used the next one to help compact the burger. I put them in the freezer until I was ready to use them.

These were actually some of the best burgers Brent and I have prepared. They were moist and held together and had a pleasing dense texture. They tasted enough like ground beef to be a little disturbing. I have no desire to eat cows!

I am going to take a moment to discuss why ground beef isn’t so great for your body. The obvious stuff aside (cholesterol, saturated fat, hormones and antibiotics) cooking beef or any meat is a tricky business. Preparing meat for food means balancing microbial contaminants with carcinogenic compounds that are formed when meat is cooked. Big agribusiness has made the case that they cannot ‘efficiently’ process large volumes of animals without some inherent contamination by the animals’ feces. This means that if you buy meat, it’s got poop on it and the law says that’s okay. They cover their butts (pardon my language) by saying, “Cook it thoroughly.” Which translates to, “If you get sick it’s your fault for not cooking it thoroughly.” Try telling that to the hundreds of thousands of people that get some form of food poisoning or another every year from eating meat.

So fine, meat is ‘safe’ if you cook it thoroughly but back to the issue of how cooking fundamentally changes the composition of what you’re eating.  Smoked and cured meats have long been the accused culprits of causing colon cancer partly because of how they’re prepared: prolonged exposure to heat. Cancers of the digestive tract are among of the most common and more deadly kinds of cancer, one in 6 will get it and one third of those will die from it within 5 years of being diagnosed.

So you can follow some tips to reduce the risk of introducing carcinogens into your diet or you can skip straight to legumes and other plants (including black-eyed peas!) which have long been associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer. One of the likely reasons for this activity is phytic acid . This is one of those small molecules that makes biochemists like me swoon but it’s properties speak for themselves. In the context of a Western diet the ability of phytic acid to sequester certain minerals that, in excess, can cause the kind of oxidative stress on the lining of the digestive tract that can eventually lead to cancer. Phytic acid when bound to fluoride from your drinking water, for example, will be excreted in your waste. Still, you can easily reduce the amount of phytic acid by soaking legumes them overnight or sprouting if you’re worried.


I think I’ve rambled enough. Time for burgers! Just pop them out of their frozen container, no thawing necessary and cook on medium high heat until they start to brown. Mine are a little charred… probably why they reminded me so much of ground beef, but they were definitely firm on the outside and moist and delightful on the inside. Yay!

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Jul 20 2012
9 Comments
Cooking, Lazy Vegan, Snacks

Hipster Chic Volume I : Peanut Butter Pickle Time

Growing up, my father introduced me to what would become a life-long obsession. And today, in this post, I will share the secret family recipe for this small slice of gourmet culinary nirvana. I present to you the peanut butter pickle sandwich.

Ingredients :
Bread
Peanut Butter
Pickles

Prep Time :
1 Hour (Without Instagram, 5 Minutes)

First, slice your bread. What we have here is an artisan gluten-free muesli loaf hand crafted locally here in Miami. Slice as many starchy canvases as you deem necessary. For this post, I will be making it face ouverte.

Next, take your peanut butter, and spread a generous layer on top of the bread prepared in the previous step. Don’t be shy with your peanut butter as it will be the mortar holding together what will become your masterpiece.

For the third step, take your pickles and slice them if they are not pre-sliced (as pictured here). This slightly sour ingredient will be what makes your sandwich sing. It compliments the creamy sweetness of the peanuts nicely.

Finally, enjoy the effing crap out of that sandwich. Treat it as a secret lover you meet with for a secret tryst after months of longing for its soft, lusty buss.

*Smugness in this post powered by Instagram

 

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Jul 19 2012
2 Comments
Cooking

Southwest Pumpkin Chili and Corn Soup‏

A good friend found a huge pumpkin growing in her backyard and when she eventually harvested it she found herself with more pumpkin puree than she knew what to do with. This is where I come in as the lucky recipient of 16 ounces of pumpkin puree. It was really sweet and mellow so I decided to make a Southwest pumpkin chili and corn soup. You’ll need the following:
1 lb. of pumpkin puree
1/4 cup of salsa verde or juice from 1 lime if you’re short on time
1 generous pinch of chili powder
1 pinch of paprika
flaked red pepper and garlic salt to taste
1/2 cup of frozen corn
1/4 cup of cilantro leaves

I melted the frozen puree over medium-high heat in a sauce pan adding the dry spices. When the puree was melted and everything was getting steamy I adjusted the seasonings and added the corn and cilantro leaves. I stirred it in and reduced the heat to low until I was ready to serve.

The tartness of the lime will accentuate the sweet corn and mellow pumpkin. Cilantro will make the whole thing fragrant and beautiful.

I garnished mine with some paprika. Sprinkling some tortilla chips over the top might add to the texture but it’s awesome as is!

This is Christie, signing off.

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Jul 15 2012
5 Comments
Cooking

Rosemary Garlic Roasted Potatoes!

I’m a big fan of potato. I think it’s a vegetable that gets a bad rap due to all the Atkins style carbohydrate bashing. Potatoes are actually a delicious source of protein, fiber, vitamin C and iron as well as a bevy of other important trace nutrients like niacin, folate and B6. They’re also versatile and easy to work with whenever you want something tasty.

You’ll need the following:

5-6 fist sized red potatoes, cut into bit sized pieces

1 tbsp rosemary

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

juice from 1/2 lime

6-7 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 tbsp corn oil (or any other oil suitable for high temperature cooking)

garlic salt and flake red pepper to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 375F/190C. Place the potatoes and the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl and stir until they’re evenly coated. Spread them out on a foil lined sheet and bake. Depending on the size, they’ll be ready after 40 minutes if they’re on the small size (3/4 inch cubes) and longer if they’re bigger.

We served this up with some steamed asparagus. I trimmed the asparagus and steamed them in the microwave by adding a little water to the bottom of a large bowl and the asparagus on top. Three minutes was all it took for lightly steamed crisp veggies.

We also tried something new: vegan mahi mahi from Veggie Brothers. I’m usually wary of vegan meats because they’re usually ersatz and expensive. I was impressed by the flavor and texture, especially given the attractive appearance. It was tasty but overpriced. We bought a ‘single serving’ and split it. At $5 per person, it wasn’t quite worth it. I do look forward to seeing more from them and hopefully a price drop.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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Jul 11 2012
6 Comments
Main Dishes, Thoughts

Vegan cheesy toast, scramble and bacon!

This is just a different assembly of some of our favorites which we casually call “the Heart Attack-Free, All-American Breakfast”. Side note: we’re really lucky to have located a bakery that will make custom gluten-free vegan bread for us. I find that most store bought varieties of gluten-free bread aren’t always vegan and even when they are, they taste like cardboard and sawdust. Below is Karin’s awesome multi-grain and -seed bread with Follow Your Heart mozzarella melted on top.

I sincerely hope that you don’t have to work too hard to find someone who can make awesome bread for you too! We toasted some vegan bread in our oven while scrambling some tofu and smoky maple bacon tempeh.

Above is our finished breakfast. It’s pretty kid friendly and I imagine that even a few non-vegans might be interested. The cheese, bread and tempeh were pre-made so we’ll just talk about the tofu.

Our standard tofu scramble is as follows:

1 carton of silken tofu

1 pinch of turmeric

1 pinch of paprika

1 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

garlic salt and flake red pepper to taste.

a touch of black (sulfurous) salt is a great addition but isn’t necessary

Sometimes I add chopped tomato, as I did in this case. We just throw everything into a pan and mix until it’s hot and awesome (Brent is in the background working on the tempeh). 

Sauteed mushrooms or chopped basil also make a great addition to any tofu scramble. I see a lot of variations on this theme, so I encourage you to experiment: adding scallions, chopped tomato, sun dried tomato, minced onions or garlic, chopped bell peppers, or whatever blows your hair back. I also know a lot of people use Chinese style tofu. I prefer silken tofu… it reminds me of runny eggs. If you’re a tofu scramble pro, I’d love to hear what you do.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Jul 10 2012
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Main Dishes, Recipes

Lentil Mushroom Loaf

This particular experiment will have to have another go. I wanted to make a lentil loaf in the spirit of meat loaf. Meat loaf always concerned me as a kid because I couldn’t tell what it was made of except that I always saw cousin Mary dumping crackers and meat that had been into the refrigerator long enough that not really be called meat anymore into a bowl and later, meatloaf would appear. Hmmm… I wonder if I should talk to a therapist about that. Anyways, my experiment involved the following:

1 carton of silken tofu

2 cups of mushrooms

1 1/2 cups of lentils

3 cups water

2 cubes of ‘beef’ bouillon

1 tsp sage

1 tsp thyme

1 pinch nutmeg

6 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of flax meal

salt and pepper to taste

I cooked the lentils with the water in my microwave with the bouillon. I heated them at 2 minute intervals until the water was all absorbed.

When they were ready I put them into my food processor with the rest of the ingredients.

I mixed it until relatively smooth and then put it into my loaf pan. I baked it at 350F/175C until a toothpick came out clean – about 45 minutes. We sliced it up and made it into sandwiches that were hearty, savory and aromatic. The sage and thyme definitely made a great combo with the mushrooms and lentils.

I think that the flavors were good but I might add some cumin and coriander along with soy sauce instead of salt. It developed a nice firm crust but I think that more flax meal would make it stick together better. I might also not blend up the mushrooms I think the presence of whole mushrooms will make this more visually attractive. A diced onion might help that too. This was delightfully moist but the texture was more like paté than loaf. There will definitely be a next time.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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Jul 05 2012
8 Comments
Thoughts

Gadgets for Budgets!

I managed to find a used soy-milk maker for $30 bucks (SoyQuick, retails for about $120) on eBay a few weeks ago and we’re pretty excited about the end products. It’s definitely a device that can help your budget and keep you from heading to the store late at night for a carton of milk.

The first step fr this particular machine is to soak and wash the soybeans. We soaked for 8 hours (instructions call for at least 4 hours to overnight). Ours needs about 1/2 cup of beans.

The next step is to fill the basin to the fill line with water (we used distilled water) and the cup with beans and then we put it on the counter and pressed the button. It heated the water and ground up the beans and before we even expected it, we had made our own soy-milk. It was incredibly easy and as you can see the machine is kind of deadly looking: perfect for my favorite guy to make his contribution to kitchen life.

The end product consists of 2 things: a cup of spent beans (above) and the milk itself (below). Not all of the beans got ground so we might use a little less than 1/2 cup next time and see if the milk is as awesome, maybe a heaping 1/3 cup.

Based on our preliminary work with the machine, our *very* conservative estimate is that we can get about 3 gallons of soy-milk from a 26 ounce bag of organic soybeans that we bought for just under $5. That’s a STEAL! You can also use almonds, cashews, flax seeds (which I’m particularly excited about) or whatever kind of beans, seeds or nuts make your day. If you’ve got an allergy and can’t risk cross contamination, this might be your bag. I’m also excited to add carob, cocoa and maca to flavor our milks and add extra nutrients.

I’m also trying to figure out what to do with the ‘waste’ product from making soy-milk which is the cup of spent beans. I’m hoping that they can be incorporated with the pulp that results from making vegetable juice to make crackers that are vegan, gluten-free and loaded with fiber instead of calories.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Jul 01 2012
5 Comments
Snacks

Salsa Verde!

I know a lot of us have probably seen these in a local grocery store or farmer’s market and didn’t know what to do with them. This is a refreshing traditional preparation that’s quick and easy for company or just to enjoy yourself.

Friends, meet tomatillo! I love making salsa verde with these babies so here we go. You’ll need the following:

juice from 1 lime

1 generous pinch of vegan sugar

1 pinch of salt

1 jalapeño

1/4 cup cilantro, stems and/or leaves

5-6 lemon or lime sized tomatillo, husks removed

I hate wasting things so I usually save the stems from my cilantro when I use the leaves for a garnish. This dip gets blended up anyways so nobody will know but you that you. Fun fact: cilantro stems keep their unique flavor and aroma when frozen.

I spray a baking sheet with olive oil and bake them at 355F/180C on the top rack next to the broiler burner so that they blacken, usually for between 5 and 10 minutes. I’ve definitely taken a few tomatillos out of the oven to discover one was on fire. Don’t worry (put the fire out first, okay?) just blend them as usual after picking off any parts that are papery from being burned.

Then I throw all the ingredients into a blender and blend until everything is uniformly chunky or smooth, depending on your preference. This salsa is awesome on corn chips, tacos, burritos, whatever you want that needs a tart, spicy kick

This is a quick easy recipe that’s sure to please. We hope you get to try it!

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Jun 28 2012
1 Comment
Cooking, Recipes

Ginger Squash Soup FTW!

Sometimes when it’s raining sideways and the sky is grey (which happens often in South Florida during the summer) you just want comfort food. We decided that squash soup with ginger and grilled cheese would fit the bill for a pair of hungry martial artists so this is what we gathered:

1 piece of ginger, (this will make it spicy and fragrant, add as little or as much as you like. Our piece was a little smaller than my palm)

1 carton of silken tofu

20 ounces of squash puree

1 tbsp Thai chili paste

1 tbsp syrup or sugar

1 cube of bouillon

1 pinch of cinnamon

1 pinch of nutmeg

salt to taste

I blended up the tofu (I used a box of Mori-Nu soft silken tofu) and ginger until it was creamy and combined it with the squash in a large pan. I used 2 boxes of Cascadian farms frozen winter squash puree.

I added all of the seasonings, adjusted them as needed and stirred until it was thoroughly mixed and heated through. I also happened to pick up some vegan gluten-free olive bread at a local market and melted some Follow Your Heart mozzarella in the oven. It took about 7 minutes at 350F/180C to get bubbly and melty.

The earthy buttery savory flavors in the grilled cheese perfectly complimented the spicy floral sweet squash soup. Brent isn’t a big fan of squash but when I mentioned making a similar soup with carrots, he got excited. This particular dish is remarkably low in calories for how rich and creamy it is. The whole pot has about 320 calories and easily feeds 2 hungry people. It’s loaded with fiber, vitamin A and protein in addition to antioxidants and trace nutrients from squash, soy, chili, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger that are of particular interest to scientists.

This is Christie, signing off!

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