Wednesday, November 10, 2010

VeganMoFo: Lazy Weeknight Dinners.




My husband got me a pizza for dinner tonight. It was great because I really didn't feel like cooking tonight. Mushroom, onions, no cheese please. I added some homemade pesto that I had hanging out in my freezer. Was yummy.


This was last night's lazy dinner. Leftover lentil-chickpea fritters, lebanese rice pilaf and sauteed kale with balsamic dressing.

Monday, November 8, 2010

VeganMoFo: Revamping Lentil Soup into Chickpea-Lentil Fritters


I love turning boring leftovers into a completely different meal the next day. Last night I made a very simple greek style lentil soup (recipe I got from The Olive and The Caper cookbook) and had a bit leftover so I revamped them into fritters that I made into a sandwich. Worked out great.


Here's the soup which was flavored with oregano, thyme and olive oil.



Here are the fritters made into a pita sandwich. I simply drained the leftover soup in a sieve to get all the liquid out and mashed them with cooked chickpeas. I then added chopped onion, cilantro, breadcrumbs and flour to bind the mixture. I shaped them into patties and fried them in grapeseed oil.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

VeganMoFo: Mediterranean Dinner Party Food.



I had a fantastic dinner party last night with a beautiful buffet of food that I FORGOT TO PHOTOGRAPH! I was so mad at myself when I realized after we had eaten. So I present to you the leftovers. In front: heirloom tomato bruschetta, green beans with sundried tomato and olives (Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen recipe), spanakopita (Vegan with a Vengeance recipe) and Greek 'gigantes' lima bean casserole (Greek Vegetarian cookbook recipe). Not pictured: roasted lemony potatoes. They were delicious and were gobbled up so fast.


For dessert I made the baklava from Tables of Lebanon cookbook. Great recipe with perfect results every time.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

VeganMoFo: Tofutti Cheese Quesadilla, Cilantro Basil Pesto Spaghetti




A quick quesadilla I made this morning with Tofutti American style vegan cheese. If I had a superior vegan cheese like Daiya or Follow Your Heart, I would have used those because they melt much better. But this did just fine for my breakfast.


1 bunch of cilantro + a handful of fresh basil + slivered almonds + garlic + olive oil + lemon juice makes a great pesto. I tossed it with thin spaghetti and added a smattering of olives. Very quick, easy and tasty weeknight pasta dinner.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

VeganMoFo: Orzo and Veggie Soup



I'm sorry guys, I've been so lazy! I was hoping that when MoFo came around, I'd be making these elaborate menus, cooking them early in the mornings before work and taking lovely shots of them in the natural light of day. It seems that weekends are my only time to get into it. I've been so wiped out every day from work that all I want to do is come home, throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and call it dinner. That's pretty much what I did tonight. Luckily this soup was absolutely delicious. I'll share the recipe with you. It's quick and easy, perfect for a weeknight meal.

Orzo and Veggie Soup

3 TB olive oil
1 tsp. oregano
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 rib celery, sliced
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes or whole (just chop them up first)
1 TB tomato paste
4 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 cup mixed frozen vegetables (I used a mix of carrots, green bean, lima beans, corn and peas)
1/2 cup orzo

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium high. Saute garlic, onion, celery and oregano until soft. Add diced tomatoes (with juice), tomato paste, water, salt and pepper, sugar and frozen vegetables. Bring to a boil, add orzo then reduce heat to medium. Simmer until pasta is tender about 10 minutes..

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

VeganMoFo: Thai Sukiyaki





Today my MoFo dish is Thai style sukiyaki which is a big bowl of mung bean noodles, tofu, vegetables in a broth flavored with soybean curd sauce, aka "sukiyaki sauce". My mother made this especially for me and I was sooo happy to eat it. Here is mom's recipe:


Thai Sukiyaki Recipe (from mom)

Ingredients:
Water for broth
Thai "Healthy Boy" brand mushroom soy sauce
salt, pepper, minced garlic, pinch of sugar
cubed tofu
veggies: sliced green onions, mushrooms, bok choy, chinese broccoli (gai lan) or regular broccoli, napa cabbage, celery...whatever you want!
mung bean noodles aka cellophane noodles, bean thread noodles. In Thai, "woon sen"
Thai "Pantainorasingh" brand sukiyaki sauce

Make soup broth for 2 servings:
Boil a few cups of water (a small pot), add mushroom soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, a pinch of sugar. Add vegetables and tofu and cook for a while until veggies are tender. Add more mushroom soy sauce to taste if needed.

Meanwhile soak mung bean noodles in cold water until they soften and expand in size. Mung bean noodles are usually sold in 4 small bunches in a package. 1 bunch is good for two people. If you want more noodles go ahead and use 2 bunches. Then boil water in separate pot and cook them for however long it says on package. It's usually not very long because they are so thin.
More about mung bean noodles/bean thread noodles here.

Put a serving of drained cooked noodles in each bowl and pour broth/veggies/tofu over. Add 2-3 TB of Thai sukiyaki sauce to the bowl and stir through. The more sauce, the spicier it will be.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Welcome to VeganMoFo!


Hiya! Today is the first day of VeganMoFo! What is VeganMoFo? It's short for Vegan Month Of Food and this whole month a bunch of food bloggers including myself will be posting like crazy all the beauteous deliciousness of vegan cuisine. There are something like 500-ish bloggers participating in this which is just fantastic. This year will be my 3rd year of joining in the celebration. Hope you enjoy! Check out the blogroll for a complete list of MoFo-ers!


Today is also World Vegan Day and to celebrate I made red chile burritos! The red chile sauce is made from dried ancho and new mexico peppers that were rehydrated in water, then pureed and simmered with cumin, oregano and salt to make this lusty brick-red sauce.


These were the fillings for the burritos: tex mex couscous and refried beans. Recipe for couscous below.

Tex Mex Couscous

3 roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno
1 TB olive oil
2 TB lime juice
salt to taste

1 cup water
1 cup couscous
1 cup chopped spinach, optional

Blend tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, olive oil, lime juice and salt until fairly smooth, it's ok to have a few chunks. Set aside. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan, add couscous, stir and cover for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and add blended sauce and toss. You may add chopped spinach at this point.