Spicy Lentil Stew and Curried Cabbage

Someday, oh someday, I will buy a camera that is not the first generation of digital picture-taking and the pics I post will be lovely. That day, of course, is not today. Not-so-nice picture notwithstanding, this is a delicious stew that came together (despite me forgetting what I wanted to be the main ingredient- red lentils).

Since I have all of this time on my hands sans job *until Monday* I have been taking time to make interesting food this week. I made garbanzo bean and roasted broccoli pasta with sundried tomato and roasted red pepper quinoa pasta with a friend on Monday, this dish (sort of, I used tahini instead of vegan mayo, because vegan mayo tastes like egg mayo and is therefore yucky, plus mine had tons of red cabbage in the mix) two nights ago and stew last night. It's been nice- I have also been making lots of steel-cut oats for breakfast and making green juice almost everyday.

Anyways, I had the idea for an Indian-esque red lentil and mushroom stew... but then I forgot to buy red lentils. So, I decided to use the green and black lentils I had on hand. This changed the stew texture immensely- it's more like plain-old cooked lentils with some sauce and not like stew-ish- which meant that the lentils provided the bite as much as the mushrooms (so I used less mushrooms and have been throwing them in salads instead). The results were still delicious- although not the texture/color I had originally intended.

Quick note- I usually do not blend spices. I thought I would give it a try and used blended chile de arbol and cinnamon stick (it worked, but I will probably just use ground cinnamon and red pepper flakes next time). I also do not really measure spices, as I have said before, so these are estimates- use more or less however you would like.

Ingredients:
-1 cup of lentils (I used green and black, but red would likely be better)
-1 medium onion, diced
-small piece of ginger 1 or 1/2 inch, diced
-3-4 garlic cloves, minced
-4-5 cups of veggie broth (I used 1 veggie cube and regular water. I have a stock bag in the freezer I will get to sometime soon!)
-1 can (mine was 6 oz) of tomato paste
- 4 oz or so of mushrooms (more if using red lentils, as this would provide the texture in the stew)
- oil for frying onions, ginger and garlic

Spice Blend 
-1 inch piece of cinnamon
- 1/3-1/4 c of dried red chiles
(Blend first two together in spice grinder-- if you have whole cloves, etc... blend those too!)
-heaping helpful of paprika (1-2 tablespoons. I had smoked on hand, it was good)
- 1 tsp of dried thyme
- pinch of cloves
- pinch of nutmeg
- plenty of cracks of black pepper
- 1 tsp (or more, I really like color) tumeric
After I smelled it and decided it did not smell spiced enough, I also added:
- 1/4 or so tsp of garam masala  
- 1/4-1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Rinse and sort the lentils and soak for approximately 1 hour. Drain.
2. Heat enough oil to saute the onion (1-2 tsp usually works for me if you stir frequently enough) over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft (5-8 minutes). Add garlic and ginger and fry for about a minute more.
3. Add tomato paste and tumeric,stirring to coat everything and a splash of water to deglaze the pan.
4. Add in spice mixture and veggie cube
5. Add in water and lentils and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer, cover and cook until desired consistency is reached (40-45 minutes).

I must say that I like this stew a lot. It would definitely be better with red lentils (I think) for texture-sake-- and might be perfect in the cooler days as well since it is warm and spicy. I served it over plain brown rice, but it would also be good with *vegan* naan or rotis.

I also made curried cabbage from Appetite for Reduction. Since, it's like, totally copyrighted I won't post the recipe, but it's basically cabbage, carrot, pea, onion, garlic, ginger, liquid and curry powder. go crazy. It was super good and simple. I have always really liked raw and pickled cabbage, but am only recently starting to like cooked cabbage. The only time I really eat cooked cabbage is at one of these two vegan Nepali buffets in Boulder, so I thought I would stick with similar flavors for my own attempts at cooked cabbage. There are a couple of other cooked cabbage recipes in AFR that I want to try...hoping that I continue to like it! Anyways, here is a pic of how it turned out:

 Delightful.

What I ate: Veganomicon Edition.....

So, I have not been posting in a while. Between school, work, (yeah, I know this is starting to sound familiar) and other stuff, remembering to post food stuff doesn't exactly rank high on the list.

But, this does not mean I haven't been cooking. Case in point, this concoction of soul-food inspired dishes. I have to admit, the tofu was my least favorite part. I think I put too much liquid smoke in the marinade. It was slightly overwhelming.  The beans were my favorite- spicy and delicious! Anyways, here are the super-long list of recipes:

BBQ Black-eyed Peas (and Pinto Beans!)

Ingredients:
-2 cups cooked beans (I used a mixture of black eyed peas and pinto beans)
-1 package tempeh, crumbled
-2 tsp. oil
-4 cloves minced garlic
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. red pepper flakes (I added more than this)
- 1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 1/3 c. agave nectar (I used a little less than this, but it was still fine)
- 1/3 c. red wine vinegar
-1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
-2 tsp. liquid smoke

Make the sauce:
1. Preheat a saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.
2. Add all of the other ingredients besides the mustard and liquid smoke, and cook for about 30 minutes (more if you can).
3. Add the mustard and liquid smoke and taste. Cook for 5 more minutes.
4. Puree sauce in blender to get rid of any clumps.

Make the beans:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. In a medium-sized dish (I went good old cast iron), add the cooked beans, sauce and crumbled tempeh.
3. Cook until the sauce is reduced and thickened (about 45 minutes- 1 hour).

Smoky Grilled Tofu and Sauteed Kale

Ingredients:
-1 pkg. extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed for at least 30 minutes, cut into triangles
- 1 large bunch of kale
-3/4 c. veggie broth
- 3 tbs. soy sauce
- 2 tbs. ACV (apple cider vinegar)
- 2 tbs. liquid smoke
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 2 tsp. maple syrup
- 2 cloves crushed garlic

Make it:

1. Whisk all of the ingredients together  and put the tofu triangles in the marinade. Marinade for at least 30 minutes, shaking occasionally to coat it all evenly.
2. Preheat oven to 350F. Put tofu in a shallow baking dish, spooning extra marinade on top and bottom to coat.
3. Cook until desired doneness- about 20 minutes for me.


Kale: 

1. Add 2 cloves crushed garlic and 1 tbs. olive oil to skillet and heat for about 30 seconds.
2. Add kale and coat w/olive oil mixture.
3. Spoon on remaining marinade, lower heat and sautee for about about 5 minutes, or until done.

Jalapeno Cornbread:

Ingredients:
- 2 c. plain soy milk
- 2 tsp. ACV
- 2 c. cornmeal
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
-1/3 c. vegetable oil

-2-3 jalapenos, sliced finely and sauteed in 1 tsp. oil in large skillet (take out jalapenos and save skillet- use it to make the cornbread)

Make it:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Combine soy milk and vinegar in bowl and set aside to curdle
3. Sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt. Create a well in the center, and add the milk/vinegar mixture and oil. Mix until just combined and no huge lumps remain.
4. Pour mixture into skillet. Sprinkle sliced jalapenos on top and bake for 30-35 minutes- until a toothpick comes out clean

This was a somewhat intensive meal (I made the beans and cornbread the night before, so it was super easy to make the tofu and kale the next night), but it was worth it after the week I had leading up to it. While I still liked the tofu, I definitely would have liked a little more spice (and a little less liquid smoke!) but it was still a success:)

Weekly Massive Meal: An Italian Feast

So, I have decided that I am going to do a large, (um, maybe?) fancy dinner once a week. Reasons for this are twofold: (1) I do not have the money to make fancy pants meals all the time; and, (2) I do not have the time to make fancy pants meals all the time. Last week I made this. And it was awesome. But, this week I wanted to do something different. When I think "big meal," my mind instantly goes "Latin-themed," so I felt like branching out a little and eating something different. Natch: Italian.

I saw an episode of "Giada at Home" on the Food Network recently, and she made this unintentionally vegan pasta dish, pasta alla formiana. It sounded interesting (as you will see below: you don't precook the pasta, it just bakes) and yums, plus I have seen it around on other vegan food blogs I frequent. I decided it seemed not only doable, but pretty cheap to put together. To go with it, I made some garlic bread and a yummy warm bean salad.

Time for recipes galore!

Pasta alla Formiana:

Ingredients:

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 clove garlic, minced/chopped

1/2 pound whole wheat penne pasta

1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling (this is what the recipe calls for, I actually did a little less)

1/4 cup dried oregano (yes, 1/4 CUP. You have gotta love oregano to love this dish!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

4-5 very ripe beefsteak tomatoes, cut into slices

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 450F.

-Blend together crushed tomatoes and garlic in blender.
-Pour into a medium bowl and add uncooked pasta, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Toss together until coated.

-Grease a baking dish (if using glass). I used another type, so I lined it w/aluminum foil and coated w/some olive oil.

-Line the bottom and sides of dish with sliced tomatoes

-Pour in the pasta/sauce mixture and spread evently

-Top with sliced tomatoes, then drizzle the top w/a little olive oil and a couple of cracks of pepper.

-Bake at 450 for about 1 hour, until pasta is cooked. Let cool before digging in!

Garlic Bread 

(from The Vegan Table)

Ingredients:

-1 loaf crusty bread (I went with good ol' Italian)

-5-6 cloves garlic, minced 

-1/4 c. olive oil (you could probably melt down some Earth Balance instead, if you wanted)

-parsley (optional)

-pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 (I used the toaster oven for the pasta and the "big" oven for the bread)

- Cut bread in-half, lengthwise

-In a small bowl, mix together garlic, olive oil, parsley and S&P

-Spread mixture over the bread evenly

-Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Canellini and Roasted Red Pepper Salad w/Lemony Parsley Pesto

Ingredients:

- 1 can canellini beans, rinsed and drained

- 1 (or more if you like) roasted red pepper, sliced into strips

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 1/2 c. flat leaf parsley

-  1/4 c. olive oil + 1 tbs. for pan

- 2-4 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

-S&P to taste

- red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

For the pesto:

(I made this about 30 minutes before I made the beans, so the flavors would have time to meld!)

-Blend the parsley, 1 clove of minced garlic, S&P, lemon juice and red pepper flakes in a food processor.

-Add in 1/4 c. olive oil (or more or less, depending on desired consistency).

-Set aside and let it meld into lemony, parsley awesomeness....

For the Beans:

-Drizzle enough oil in the pan to fry the remaining 1 clove of garlic (for about 30 seconds, or till fragrant)

- Add the roasted red peppers and stir on medium for 1-2 minutes

-Add the beans and heat through (about 3 minutes)

I served the beans over romaine lettuce with a drizzle of the pesto on the top. It was sooooooo good!!

Here is the entire (way to large) plate:

 

I loved this entire meal!!! A couple of words of warning; however: if you do not like the following ingredients:

1. Lemon

2. Oregano

3. Tomatoes

DO NOT, under any circumstances, make this meal! The pasta is amazing, and the oregano flavor is really pronounced. Perhaps my favorite part was the pesto. When I took a small taste after blending it, I thought "Oh, shit, I have screwed this up," because it was soooooooooooo lemony; however, when just drizzling it over the beans and romaine, it was PERFECT!

I don't eat Italian-style food very often, but this whole meal inspired me to rethink that position.