Mango Chili Chutney Hoisin Tofu

This meal came to be when my tupperware of Pav Bhaji fell onto the floor, cracked and propelled small pieces of plastic into my curry. :( Sadness. I had to either throw it out or risk eating small shards of plastic, no thanks! Luckily I didn't waste that much curry and I had some fresh tofu in the fridge. I made this recipe but substituting mango chutney for the plum sauce. It was delicious as usual. Seriously if you think you hate tofu, try this recipe. You just might change your mind.

Pav Bhaji + Hummus with Veggies

Some time has passed and I have recovered from the bug incident. I was ready to make Pav Bhaji again. This dish is beautiful. It's a spicy mashed vegetable curry that is served with buttered rolls. It's really delicious and filling! I used this recipe here. (I substituted vegan margarine for the butter!) I also made creamy garlicky lemony hummus and cut up assorted veggies for snacking. I had to buy a few produce items for all of this but I didn't spend more than 6 bucks.

Ingredients I already had:
garlic
potatoes
frozen green beans
frozen peas
pav bhaji masala spice mixture
tomato sauce
chickpeas
lemons
tahini

Ingredients I had to purchase:
cauliflower
red bell peppers
carrots
celery
wheat kaiser rolls


I find that eating raw vegetables is so much easier with a yummy dip!

Biscuit Casserole Stew

It's cloudy and overcast today which makes me want comfort food. I'm still trying to use up whatever I have in my kitchen and after thinking a bit, I remembered this stew from Brian McCarthy's 'Vegan Family Cookbok'. It's a very easy recipe where I was able to add things from my fridge that needed using up. It's a thick soup-like stew with a split pea soup base and features potatoes and carrots with a drop biscuit crust. I added some extra veggies and made whole wheat biscuits for the top. There was a bit of overspill in the oven (should have use a bigger dish), but it made it look interesting I think!

Ingredients from my pantry:
can of split pea soup
plain soymilk
whole wheat flour
all purpose flour
olive oil
veggie broth powder

Ingredients from my fridge:
mushrooms
broccoli
potatoes
carrots
onions
garlic
zucchini

Ingredients I had to purchase:
none


Warm and comforting.

Pantry List (again).

I like lists so I don't mind doing this every now and again. Here's what I've got in my pantry. I seriously have to stop going to the market every other day for stuff when I can make perfectly good meals out of what I already have. I hope to cook with these items and I will try to keep purchased ingredients to a minimum.

-jasmine and basmati white rice
-sushi rice
-corn pasta
-white pasta
-quinoa
-bulgur
-millet
-pearled barley
-oats
-TVP (textured vegetable protein)
-whole wheat flour/all purpose flour
-masa
-split red lentils
-green lentils
-yellow split peas
-black olives
-roasted red peppers
-tomato sauce/tomato paste/canned diced and stewed tomatoes
-1 can split pea soup
-1 can pinto beans
-2 cans kidney beans
-5 cans chickpeas
-2 cans blackeyed peas
-dry aduki beans
-dry red salvadorean beans
-dry black beans
-miso paste (red and white)
-3-4 cans coconut milk
-various thai curry pastes
-frozen corn
-frozen green beans
-frozen lima beans
-frozen peas
-russet potatoes
-onions/garlic
-pita bread
-corn tortillas
-flour tortillas
-taco shells

Hopefully I'll get inspiration from my cookbooks...




I've got a few non veg cookbooks as well. Good for getting ideas and I'm not averse to veganizing recipes that require animal products!

Using up what's in your kitchen!

I had this plan to make pizzas this weekend with some vegan mozzarella that I bought but I didn't have any of the other ingredients that I needed like pizza dough and the right veggies for toppings (I was in the mood for red onions, green peppers, olives and pineapple). I am trying to save money by not going to the market every other day for stuff so I opened up my fridge and pantry and perused my stock. I had quinoa. I had black beans. I had canned tomatoes. I had fresh kale. I had fresh mushrooms. I had flour tortillas. "Burritos!" I said.

Pantry staples used:
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
tomato sauce
quinoa
flour tortillas

Other vegetables/fruits/misc. ingredients etc:
kale
onion
garlic
mushrooms
vegan mozzarella
vegenaise
lemon

Ingredients I had to purchase: none

So here they are, wet burritos (aka "enchilada style" burritos) with a delicious quinoa, black bean and kale filling, topped with tomato sauce, a bit of the vegan mozzarella and drizzled with lemon spiked vegenaise. I based the recipe off of the burrito recipe I posted on my blog several months ago. Find it here.


Looks like enchiladas and they smelled like pizza!


Insides.


I got this cookbook recently and it looks really good. There are a variety of vegetarian recipes from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria that I can't wait to try.


I made a Tunisian Boisson aux Fraises, a refreshing strawberry drink flavored with lemon, orange flower water and sugar.

Meal in a Bowl.

I like the idea of a meal in a bowl. You've got your protein, grain and vegetable all in one. And it gets more interesting when you add other elements like savory sauces, beans, nuts, dried fruit and pretty much anything else you can think of. After a long day at the ballgame (Dodgers won AGAIN!), I was hungry when I got home. I was in the mood for a rice bowl. I steamed some rice, added fresh steamed broccoli, pan fried tofu chunks and covered everything in a curry sauce. The sauce recipe is "Chip Shop Curry Sauce" which can be found here. I don't know why I used this sauce because it is traditionally used for fish and chips and I've never had original curry sauce from England before so I didn't know what to expect. I think I was attracted to the chopped up onions and apples in it which I thought would make the sauce pretty flavorful. I really wanted to be blown away by it but I found it to be kind of bland and underwhelming. I ended up adding a few teaspoons of sugar and a bit of soy sauce to give it some flavor. I also served it with a blob of mango chili chutney as well. It tasted much better after all of that but I wish it would have been good from the start. Oh well! I guess my next meal in a bowl will have to feature a better sauce. Maybe a sweet and savory peanut sauce, a bbq sauce or a spicy tomato sauce or something... Well, it's good to try things and I'm glad I tried it.

Ethiopian Berbere Stew

I am very new to Ethiopian food (my first taste being the glorious 'Rahel' in L.A.) and I would love to explore more of the cuisine, both at restaurants as well as at home. I found this spicy lentil stew recipe at Susan V's fat free vegan blog. You'll find it here. I added green beans to my stew for color as well as add a vegetable to my meals. I plan to eat this all week with either rice or bread. It's delicious, spicy, earthy and full of flavor.