Not Just Lettuce: A Vegan Food Blog

Keepin' It Simple: Beet Green and Quinoa Saute

2012-06-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

Right now my house is an absolute disaster. After 3+ days of non-stop cooking, baking, and scrapbooking, it's beginning to look like Martha Steward threw up all over my kitchen...and my living room...and my office. I really enjoy "hands-on" creative activities - even though they often leave my house in a temporary state of chaos. I think that's part of the reason I enjoy vegan cooking so much. Although vegan food products are becoming more popular, there are relatively few pre-made food options out there for those of us who eschew animal products (especially if you live in New Brunswick). Even some sauces, canned foods, and dressings list animal by-products on their labels, which means that most of my meals are the product of hands-on, from-scratch, fresh-from-the-kitchen cooking.

Although there are a lot of super-complex made-from-scratch vegan recipes out there, "hands-on" and "from-scratch" vegan cooking doesn't have to be difficult. Some of my favourite meals are also the most simple to prepare. Take the meal I made for dinner tonight. It was 100% fresh, 100% delicious, and oh-so-easy to make. I call it "Beet Green and Quinoa Saute." Here's what I did:

I started off by making some quinoa. And by cooking, I mean putting quinoa and water into my magical rice cooker and pressing the "cook" button. If you don't own a rice cooker, I seriously recommend making the investment - it just might be the best purchase you ever make. I'd be lost without mine.

My BFF

While the rice cooker worked its quinoa cooking magic, I chopped up some onion, celery, and mushrooms and threw them, along with some olive oil, into a pan. I let the veggies saute until they started to get soft, clear, and...sauteed looking.

Next came the secret ingredient: beet greens (ok, so the ingredient isn't so secret when it's in the title of the recipe, but I'm calling it the secret ingredient all the same. It's more fun that way). Beet greens are a relatively new discovery for me, and they're quickly becoming one of my favourite ingredients. They're delicious, choc-full of nutrients, and add a gorgeous deep green and purple colouring to salads and sautes. After chopping the beet greens into bite-sized pieces, I threw them in the pan with the other veggies.

Once the beet greens began to wilt, I scooped some now-cooked (just like magic!) quinoa out of the rice cooker and stirred it in with the veggies. To fancy it up a little, I finished it off by adding a shot of balsamic vinegar and a spoonful of organic local mustard to the mix before serving.

And that's that. A simple post for a simple, delicious vegan meal!

Bye for now,

<3 Dana

Vegan Cupcakes on a Rainy Afternoon

2012-06-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

I have no plans for the day, I’m home alone, and the rain is pouring down like there’s no tomorrow. How can I possibly salvage such a gloomy afternoon? How about scrapbooking (yea, I’m that cool), and munching on some home-made VEGAN CUPCAKES!?!?!?! Now I know you’re probably thinking, “hold the phone…vegans eat cupcakes? How’s that possible?” Well, friends, I’m happy to tell you not only do vegan cupcakes exist, they are also among the finest delicacies the world has ever known. Today I decided to go with classic chocolate cupcakes and blackberry-tinted buttercream icing. Delicious! But before I share today’s cupcake-o-licous adventure, I’d like to offer you a glimpse at my introduction to vegan baking…

My foray into veganism began with desserts…not lettuce, or tofu-dogs, or tabouli, but gooey, sweet, succulent, chocolate-filled baked goods. I owe my “conversion,” as it were, at least in part to a lovely vegan named Kara who was part of my MA cohort back at good ol’ Queen’s University. At the time I was but a curious vegetarian, interested in the mysterious world of veganism, but unsure of how to take the first step. Whenever we had a social event, coffee hour, or random food-centered gathering, Kara brought home-baked vegan treats to share with the world. Her baking wasn’t as good as regular, non-vegan stuff…it was better. Cookies, brownies, muffins – all mind-blowingly fresh, moist, and delectable. When I finally took my first steps toward veganism, I did it with Kara’s baked goods in mind. The first vegan cookbook I bought was Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. The second was Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. A few batches of cookies and a dozen or so cupcakes was all that it took to prove to myself (and my steak-loving husband) that I was finally ready to dive in, and the rest, as they say, is history. (That’ll be my last awful cliché for this post. I promise.)

Now, back to the cupcakes. When it comes to making vegan cupcakes, the big question is: how do you make cupcakes without any eggs? It’s really just a matter of science. In most traditional cupcake recipes eggs act as a leavening agent (basically, they make the cupcakes light and fluffy). They also act as binders and emulsifiers, which kinda help hold the cupcakes together. When you understand the purpose of eggs in a recipe, you simply need to find a substitute with similar properties. In the case of vegan cupcake recipes, eggs are often substituted with a tsp or so of mild vinegar stirred into a cup of soymilk. Vegetable oil is also often a key ingredient in vegan baking, but I’m not a scientist, so I don’t really know what it does.

Of course, a cupcake isn’t a cupcake unless it’s slathered in frosting. My friends are often impressed when they find out that I make my own buttercream frosting. I’m quite sure why, since icing isn’t all that difficult to make. All you do is throw some margarine, shortening, and icing sugar (read: fat and sugar) in a mixer with a dash of vanilla and almond milk. What I’m really proud of is making my own all-natural food colouring. I have no idea what they put in store-bought food colouring to make it look the way it does, but the alarming vibrancy of the colours makes me a little suspicious. I’m probably just paranoid, but just to be on the safe side I’ve been experimenting with creating plant-based dyes of various colours. Since I’m feeling generous, I’ll share the highly specialized technique that I used today to dye today’s batch of icing light purple. Pay close attention…

Step One: Squeeze some blackberry juice into the icing and stir it around.

Step Two: There is no step two. It’s just that easy.

Blackberry juice works well because the colour is so concentrated. Just a few drops colours the icing without changing the flavour. I've also tried cranberries, blueberries, and raspberries in various combinations. The result is always glorious. Once the icing is coloured, all that's left to do is swirl in on to the top of your cupcakes, and enjoy!

Well, I think I've rambled on enough for one afternoon. Time to go eat some cupcakes.

Bye for now,

<3 Dana

PPK's Vegan Chopped: Baked Black-Eyed Flautas with Choca-Guaca-Mole and Limeberry Salsa

2012-06-24T21:04:00.002-07:00

Well, I figure that since I’ve been blogging all of three days now, it’s about time that I stepped things up and started inventing my own recipes. And what better way to start than with an original recipe submission for the Post Punk Kitchen’s inaugural Vegan Chopped competition? I’ve long been a fan of The Food Network’s “Chopped,” so I figured that taking part in a vegan Chopped-style competition would be pretty cool. Oh, and did I mention the part where it’s hosted by the Post Punk Kitchen? For those of you who aren’t familiar with PPK, it is pretty much the definition of awesome vegan cooking/blogging/awesomeness (yes, I just said awesome vegan awesomeness..because it’s just that awesome). PPK’s Isa Chandra Moskowitz is responsible for some of the most rockin’ vegan cookbooks out there, and just knowing that she’ll be judging my submission is pretty freaking cool (Hi, Isa!). But enough pandering…let’s talk about the recipe!

The Challenge: Create and photograph a vegan entrée. The total prep and cooking time for the entrée should be no more than 40 minutes. The entrée must include four secret ingredients – canned black-eyed peas, bittersweet chocolate, blackberries, and mint. (No sweat….right…?)

The Answer: Baked Black-Eyed Flautas with Choca-guaca-mole and Limeberry Salsa

**Before jumping into the recipe, I feel like I should throw in a disclaimer or two. First of all, I’m calling these things ‘flautas,’ but I have no Mexican cooking experience whatsoever, so if you’re reading this recipe and you feel as though I’ve seriously offended your culinary heritage, I sincerely apologize. Secondly, this is the first recipe I’ve ever written on my own, so the wording is just a wee bit awkward in a few places. I took pictures throughout the process, so hopefully they will help you decipher my inane ramblings.**

And now, without further ado, I present to you: Baked Black-Eyed Flautas with Choca-guaca-mole and Limeberry Salsa.

Prep/Cooking Time: approx. 40 min

Makes: 6 huge flautas

For the Flautas:

2 cups Maseca Corn Masa

1 ¼ cups water

¼ teaspoon salt

1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

Additional salt (for sprinkling)

1. Preheat the oven to 400^o and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the Maseca, water, and salt. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until a soft dough is formed. Roll the dough into little balls about the size of golf balls and place them on the parchment paper. Squish each ball flat to create tiny little tortillas.

3. Spoon about ½ to ¾ of a table spoon of black-eyed peas, and ½ to ¾ of a table spoon of black beans onto each little tortilla.

4. Roll Maseca dough into little golf balls for a second time, and flatten each ball between your palms to form tiny little tortillas (again). Place a tiny tortilla over each little pile of black-eyed peas and black beans. Squish the edges of the top tortilla down so that it sticks to the bottom tortilla, completely covering the bean mixture.

5. Brush each flauta with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Throw the flautas in the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until they seem golden and done-ish.

Once the flautas are in the oven, it’s time to prepare the guac and the salsa.

For the Choca-guaca-mole:

¾ cup bittersweet vegan chocolate baking chips

1 tablespoon soymilk

2 ripe avocados

½ of a red onion

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves (finely chopped)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 serrano chili (unless you’re a sadist, in which case, use two)

1. In a small sauce pan, combine chocolate chips and soymilk over medium heat. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on the chocolate to ensure that it doesn’t burn.

2. Cut avocados in half and remove the seeds. Scoop the avocado out of the peel and into a mixing bowl. Using a fork, potato masher, or other equally effective mashing device to mash up the avocado.

3. Remove the stem and seeds from the serrano chili (be careful not to touch your eyes, because serranos are pretty stinkin’ hot). Mince the onion, cilantro leaves, and serrano, and dump them into the bowl with the mashed avocado. Squeeze in some lime juice.

4. Spoon the melty chocolate mixture into the mashed-up avocado mixture. Stir until well combined.

For the Limeberry Salsa:

1 generous cup blackberries

1 generous cup strawberries

¼ of a red onion

1 teaspoon lime zest

1 – 2 limes

¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves (finely chopped)

¼ cup fresh mint leaves (finely chopped)

1. Chop up the onion, cilantro leaves, and mint leaves.

2. Zest and juice the limes.

3. Dump all of the ingredients into the food processor and give it a whirl.

Serve the flautas hot with the guac and salsa on the side for dipping.

*********

Despite the lengthy and convoluted instructions, this meal was actually ridiculously easy to make. Plus, it is pretty delicious, if I do say so myself. The cilantro in the salsa and the serranos in the guac keep the meal from tasting too “deserty” without overpowering the other flavours. The recipe makes a fair amount of Choca-guaca-mole and Limeberry salsa, so you can try experimenting a bit with the leftovers. I put some of the left over guac and salsa on a sandwich today, and it was absolutely heavenly.

Well, there you have it! My very first original recipe. Thanks for reading!

That’s all for now,

<3 Dana

Lentil Daal: Simple and Delicous

2012-06-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

I served this traditional Indian dish to my classmates on the last day of my B.Ed program. Since then I've had about a billion people ask me for the recipe (I guess that means they liked it). I found this recipe on the internet a while back. Since then I’ve made it at least a couple times a month. Daal is super easy to make, healthy, and unbelievably friggen' delicious. Give it a try:

Lentil Daal

Ingredients:

1 onion, finely chopped (I’ve used sweet, yellow, and Spanish on various occasions)

1 tablespoon (15 g) vegan margarine (or vegetable oil, if you prefer)

1-1/3 cup (250 g) split red lentils or toor dal 1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste

3 cups (750 ml) water

1.8 ounces (50 g) creamed coconut *

Directions:

1. Fry the onion in margarine for 10 minutes until soft and lightly browned.

2. Add lentils, garlic, cumin, salt, turmeric, and chili; stir for 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add the water, bring to the boil, and simmer gently for 25-30mins, until the lentils are tender.

4. Add the creamed coconut and stir over the heat until dissolved.

5. Check seasoning and serve.

The original recipe recommends serving with rice. I like to throw a couple scoops of basmati on my plate, add a nice layer of raw baby spinach, and heap a generous helping of daal on top of it all. It’s absolutely delightful and adds an extra boost of veggie-goodness to the meal. Daal is also excellent over quinoa, and though I have yet to try it, I’m sure it would be great with vegan naan or roti as well.

* If you've never used creamed coconut before, you can find it in the international food section of any major grocery store. I generally use Grace brand, but any brand will work just fine. Some people really can't stand the taste of coconut, and the recipe still tastes delicious if you leave the coconut out...that being said, I highly recommend that coconut-haters be brave and try it just this once (I can almost guarantee you'll love it).

But Seriously...What Do You Eat?

2012-06-23T18:42:00.002-07:00

According to a recent poll, 90% of people are totally thrown for a loop when they find out someone they know is a vegan. And by recent poll, I mean a random statistic I just made up. Not that I don’t have the evidence to back it up. Nine times out of ten, when a polite, generous individual offers me some food, the conversation goes something like this:

Polite, generous individual: “Would you like some (insert name of meat-, dairy-, or egg-based product here)?”

Me: “No thank you. I’m vegan.”

Polite, generous individual: “Oh. So…what do you eat?"

Most of the time, the question comes from a place of genuine curiosity. Vegans are, after all, still fairly uncommon, and people don’t often see us in our natural habitats. Of course, most people know we exist, but their understanding of us has been shaped by a combination of hearsay, myths, and internet memes. Pop-culture often paints us as pretentious, smelly, pocket-composters who subsist entirely on tofu-dogs and wheatgrass tea. So I’m not surprised in the least when the people I meet assume that I can’t eat any baked goods, that all my meals taste like cardboard, or that I’m hovering on the brink of starvation (which, I can assure you, I am most certainly not). Some members of my own family have trouble wrapping their heads around the intricacies of an animal-free diet. My good old German Grandpa (God bless him), is fully convinced that the only things vegetarians eat are veggie pizza and salad, and I don’t think that anything I or anyone else says is going to change his mind.

I’ve started this blog to share the magic of vegan food with the world (or, at the very least, with the 3 – 5 friends and family members who will end up reading this blog). My mission: to answer, once and for all, the age-old question, “what do vegans eat?” I’m not trying to ‘convert’ anyone, or get into a philosophical debate about food morals…I just want to show people that there are a whole lot of things that vegans can eat, and that most of it is pretty darn delicious. I’ll post recipes, pictures, the occasional musing, and other vegan-related content when the mood strikes me. Some recipes will be my own, some will be borrowed from other places, and some will be adaptations of recipes given to me by family and friends. All of them will be prepared and tested in my home kitchen, and photographed for you to enjoy. I welcome your questions and comments, and hope that you’ll visit regularly as I stumble my way through the world of vegan blogging.

Bye for now,

<3 Dana