More Food Photos!

Lots of yummy food I've been cooking. Bruschetta, salad, lots of lasagna and dal! And I'd like to say that TRADER JOE'S VEGAN MOZZARELLA IS THE BEST!

These are frozen basil cubes, with olive oil and with water. Looking forward to using them. I will either plop one into soup or into a hot pan for cooking!

Coconut Lentil Dahl & A Sandwich.

The Happy Pear's recipe for Puy Lentil Dahl with coconut and veggies. I changed up my veggies from the original recipe based on what I had in my fridge. It's really good with rice.

A sandwich for dinner. Tofurky italian deli, vegan cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato and olive salad.

Puy Lentil Coconut Dahl & Banana Cake.

Beautiful dahl recipe from The Happy Pear cookbook. I'm so in love with their food! I had to substitute a few things because I didn't have them. I used a garnet yam instead of butternut and kabocha squash. I know the squash would have been amazing. Didn't have pak choi so I used baby spinach.

I had some with a bit of white rice. Very very good. The coconut milk is what makes this dish. It is very similar to Thai Masaman curry. Just gorgeous flavors.

Vegan banana cake. Nothing healthy about this! It'll be good with a cup o' tea.

Red Lentil Dahl, Caesar Salad & Energy Bars.

Tried out The Happy Pear's recipe for red lentil dahl today. It's pretty similar to the usual dahl I make but they add curry powder and lime juice to theirs. I also added a tiny bit of olive oil to sautee my onions and garlic and also added about 1 TB of tomato paste. I also pureed half of the soup because I used whole red lentils which didn't break down enough for me. Because of the added tomato paste, it was more tomatoey. Yummy!

Caesar salad with whole grain croutons and sauteed tofu. I used the dressing from "The Ultimate Uncheese cookbook". I added some Vegenaise to my dressing to mellow it out a bit. It's quite strong with the nutritional yeast and dijon flavors, as is.

Love these energy bars. They are made out of toasted oats, peanut butter, agave, maple syrup, coconut, hemp protein powder, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate chips! Slightly healthier alternative to a processed power bar or candy bar. I posted the recipe at a previous blog entry here. I omitted the sugar and used maple syrup/agave instead. I found that the bars are softer as a result.

Wrapped up individually for lunches this week.

Here, watch The Happy Pear red lentil dahl video!

Indian food and cake.

I made a delicious indian feast today: Mixed lentil dal curry (split masoor dal, moong dal and split urad dal) and Aloo Palak (potatoes in spinach gravy). So good with rice and buttered bread!

For dessert I used 2 cups Bisquick mix with two mashed bananas, two tablespoons sugar, 1 cup almond milk and vanilla. Before I stuck it in the oven, I sprinkled a mixture of Earth Balance, cinnamon, brown sugar and Bisquick to make a topping.

It's really good. Kind of a cross between a pancake and a muffin in taste. Not too sweet because of the small amount of sugar. Perfect for tea! *Edited to add: I guess this is more like "coffee cake"? It's really good the next day even after refrigerating it. I had to keep it away from ants!

Masoor Dal & Vanilla Tapioca Pudding!

I made a pot of red lentil dal today from The Flavors of India cookbook. I love all the wonderful flavors in this: cumin, mustard seed, ginger, turmeric and chile. I had a bowl for lunch with a hot buttered flour tortilla.

And check this out! I made tapioca pudding! I used to love tapioca pudding so much as a little girl and my mom used to buy those little packs of Swiss Miss puddings. Then I upgraded to Kozy Shack haha. I thought I would never taste tapioca again after going vegan but I found a super simple recipe here. I can't believe how easy it is. I served it with a generous topping of soy whip! It's so creamy and just like I remember.

Long time no blog...here's a soup recipe.

Trying to get back into blogging. Things have been kind of dull around here. No sweet puppy to come home to anymore. I haven't been motivated to do much more than go to work, come home, shower and make very simple dinners that don't require much effort, ingredients or time. These past couple of weeks I've been focusing on soup because throwing things into one pot and walking away while dinner cooks itself is so appealing right now. I've been inspired by the soups on Fran's Ayurvedic blog. The one I made tonight is just a variation of what I've been doing the past two weeks. Whatever veggies I have on hand goes into the pot. It always turns out tasty.

Pureed Veggie and Lentil Soup With Pumpkin

1/4 to 1/2 cup mung dal (split mung beans)
2-3 cups chopped kale leaves
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp yellow mild curry powder
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 cup pureed pure pumpkin from a can (ingredients should be just: pumpkin)
salt and pepper to taste

Put lentils and vegetables, (except pumpkin) in a pot. Add water to cover about 1" above the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Add spices/seasonings, stir and lower heat to medium and cover. Cook until all vegetables are tender and lentils are mushy. Blend half of the soup and pour back into the pot while simmering on low. Add the pureed pumpkin and stir well to incorporate. This will thicken up the soup. Simmer until heated through. Adjust spices and salt/pepper as needed. Serve with a drizzle of tahini and a squeeze of lemon.

Lentils and Rice: Quintessential Vegetarian Food.

I think a lot of us veggies enjoy eating this basic meal of lentils and rice. They offer a low-fat, nutritious source of complete protein, fiber, iron and other minerals. Switch out the white rice for brown rice and you've got whole grains in your favor. It's very easy to prepare and is helpful when you're short on time and uses ingredients from your pantry. I made this today out of sheer laziness. While the red lentil dal was cooking, I threw some rice, a handful of frozen peas and a pinch of turmeric in the rice cooker. In about 20-30 mintues, lunch was ready. I added some tomato salsa (which works great as a chutney) on top.

Red Lentil Dal

1 cup red lentils
5 cups water
2 TB olive oil
1 TB minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno chile pepper, minced
1/2 tsp each: cumin, turmeric, coriander powder, garam masala
salt to taste
1 TB tomato paste

2 TB olive oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
a pinch of asafetida
Chopped cilantro
Lemon wedge

Heat 2 TB of olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Saute ginger, garlic and chile for a few minutes. Add water and lentils. Bring to a boil. Add spices, salt and tomato paste. Lower heat to medium low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.
In a small pot or pan, heat the other 2 TB of oil. When hot, add mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, asafetida. When mustard seeds begin to pop, pour the whole mixture into the pot of lentils. Cover lentils with a lid immediately and turn off heat. Let sit for five minutes. Stir in cilantro, lemon juice and season with more salt if needed.