Vegan Red Beans and Rice

This vegan version of a Louisiana Creole classic uses liquid smoke (available in most grocery stores near the barbecue sauces) and smoked paprika to give replace the meaty flavor of ham.

Caveat: I notoriously do not measure my oil or my spices, ergo no measurements are given here. When sauteing, I put in enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and in rice, I put in a splash. In terms of seasoning, the seasoning for this dish is somewhat individual based on how salty and how spicy you prefer your food to be. Being a dancer, I usually count to 8 while sprinkling seasoning! In my version I used only a tiny dash of cayenne pepper, as I am not partial to spicy foods. Use your eyes, nose, and tastebuds to figure out the best amounts for you!

Vegan Red Beans and Rice

2 cups red beans, soaked overnight and boiled/pressure cooked til soft
Half a red onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Olive oil
1 c vegetable broth (recommend Better Than Boullion)
1 capful liquid smoke
Sea salt
Black pepper
Red pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Smoked paprika
Thyme
Cayenne pepper

1 c brown basmati rice, soaked
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Turmeric
Onion powder
Garlic powder
2 c water

For the beans:
Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot. Saute onions and garlic about 2 min, add all seasoning, stir and mix well, saute another 5 min, add peppers and celery, saute another 2-3 min.
Add beans, stir until coated. Add veg broth and liquid smoke, stir, simmer on low uncovered about 30-40 min til liquid thickens, stirring occasionally.

For the rice:
Combine all ingredients in a pot, stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cook on lowest heat setting until water is absorbed and rice is fluffy (about 40 min.)

Let sit for ten min to settle, then ladle the beans and sauce over the rice and enjoy! My non-veg partner enjoyed it very much with a small piece of chicken on the side and did not miss the ham in the beans.

Homemade Pickles!

I absolutely LOVE pickles. I have to confess that my inspiration to start making them myself started with a small obsession with an adult beverage called picklebacks, which involves pickle brine. I wanted to make this beverage at home, but couldn't find pickles in the store which weren't laden with chemicals. The organic pickles I found were unbelievably expensive. I then discovered something amazing: it is about the easiest thing on earth to make your own pickles. It is probably the simplest thing I will ever post on this blog. The one caveat is that these easy pickles cannot be stored in the cupboard. You have to put them in the fridge.

Here is how to make pickles:

Boil 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, and 1tbsp salt.
Pour this mixture over a bunch of cucumbers, cut up or not as per your preference, in a jar.
Leave the jar in the fridge for 3 weeks.
Pickles.

If you want to get a little fancy, chop up a couple cloves of garlic and about 2 tbsps of fresh dill and throw that in too. I did so and the result was the closest thing I have ever had to a Kosher Dill from the Jewish deli on Kings Highway in the 80s, which probably no longer exists.

Once you have piggishly eaten then entire jar in 2 days, you can reuse the brine at least once, just add more cucumber.

Vegan Pate

Pate is one of those fancy foods it seems one will never eat again after going vegan. When I discovered something called Faux Gras, a vegan version made from lentils and walnuts, in the health food store, I was hooked, but deterred from buying it frequently as a tiny container is about 6 bucks. One day after making too many lentils, I invented this extremely simple recipe and discovered I could make an equally delicious version for pennies at home! This scrumptious pate is great with crackers, bread, raw veggies, or apple slices. Bon appetit!

4 cups cooked lentils w bay leaf + garlic
2 cups walnuts
Juice of 2 lemons
1 package of dry miso
Splash vinegar (apple cider or balsamic)
Splash tamari or soy sauce

Blend on high for about 5 min. Pate!

Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I can actually take credit for having invented this recipe! Once again, nutritional yeast takes the place of cheese to create the same rich, velvety flavor but substituting the cholesterol for a wallop of B vitamins.

1 large potato, chopped
1 head broccoli, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup non-dairy milk (unsweetened)-- I used almond
1 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Saute the garlic in the olive oil until soft, then add the potato chunks and stir for another 3 minutes. Add all of the other ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer on low about 20 min or until all chunks are very soft.

Two Simple Blackeyed Pea Recipes

Two Simple Blackeyed Pea Recipes

Blackeyed peas are nutrition-packed: high in calcium, thiamin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, folate and manganese. When I first was introduced to them I was unsure what to make with them, but they actually are very versatile. Here are two extremely easy recipes:

BBQ Blackeyed Peas, Southern style
First, cook beans using soak and cook method here.
Saute 1 onion and 1 garlic clove, chopped, in olive or other veg oil, about 5 min
Add 2 c cooked blackeyed peas, 1/4 c chopped parsley, 1/4 c chopped cilantro, with a little water from the beans
Simmer 2-3 min
Add 2 c barbecue sauce (I like Annie's Naturals, or you can make your own)
Add a little more water from the beans, around 1/4 c
Simmer covered on low heat for 15 min.

I recommend pairing with a thick, whole grain bread and a salad.

Peanut Butter Blackeyed Peas, Ghanian styleSaute 1 onion, chopped, in peanut oil, about 5 min
Add 3 c cooked blackeyed peas
Add 4 tbsp natural peanut butter
Add a little water from the beans, about 2-3 tbsp
Simmer on low 5 min
Add 2 large tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Simmer on low another 10 min

I recommend this one paired with buckwheat groats (kasha), although brown rice would also do, and a side of fall squash such as acorn or butternut.

Both have a nice, hearty comfort food quality with a high level of nutrition!

Potato Latkes, Applesauce, and Cashew Sour Cream

Latkes were always one of my favorites around Jewish holidays. This recipe with all the fixings plus a bonus dessert is 100 percent from scratch, totally vegan, and delish!

Latkes
3 lbs potatoes, grated (I used red and didn't peel)
1 onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 Ener-G egg replacers (can be found in health food store)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
Mix well, then let congeal in the fridge for an hour or two.
Heat vegetable oil (safflower is my recommendation, avoid soy or canola) over medium heat in a large frying pan. Drop in tablespoons of potato mixture and flatten slightly with a spoon. Cook 3-5 min on each side. You will know it's time to flip when the spatula slides underneath easily. Makes about a dozen.

Applesauce
Cut 4 apples into chunks. (I used Macintosh, did not peel.)
Put in small pot, add 3/4 c water
Add a tsp of cinnamon
Add a pinch of salt
Bring to a boil, simmer on low 20 min. 

Cashew Sour Cream
Soak 2 c raw cashew nuts in cold water overnight in the fridge.
Drain and rinse.
Add:
3/4 c water
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
Blend in food processor until smooth.

What I did was then halve the cream, and add to one-half:
1 tbsp agave (maple would work too)
1 tsp vanilla extract
And blend again. I then used the sweet cream to make:

Peach Parfait
Layer crumbled Graham crackers (ok one thing wasn't from scratch), chopped peaches, and sweet cashew cream in individual parfait dishes. Depending on the size and shape of your cups amounts will differ. For my cups, which are conical, I did:
1 graham cracker square
1 tbsp cream
1 tbsp peach
2 graham cracker squares
1.5 tbsp cream
2 tbsp peach

Cool in fridge a few hours, then gleefully devour.

Quick and Easy Homemade Bread

I got this recipe from a fellow dancer. It is a no-knead, no-rise bread without yeast. It literally took about 3 minutes to put together and was very tasty with some non-dairy butter spread, dipped in miso soup, and used to sop up barbecued black eyed peas!

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine:
3 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp thyme (any dried herb can be substituted--I'm going to try with fresh herbs too)
1/4 tsp sea salt
Black pepper to taste

Add:
1 1/2 c water
1/4 c olive oil

Mix well, I kneaded lightly with damp hands as it was too thick for a spoon.

Put into loaf baking pan and bake for 40 min. Cool a bit before trying to remove from pan.

Vegan Lasagna

I never like lasagna as a kid, and the ricotta cheese always upset my stomach. This recipe is a hybrid of several I found, and it is tres delicious and much lighter than its dairy equivalent.

Tofu Ricotta:
2 14 oz packages of firm tofu, drained and squeezed for excess water
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tbsp olive oil
1tsp sea salt

Combine the above ingredients in a food processor and blend til smooth.

Vegetable Tomato Sauce
4 cups of fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup of basil leaves, chopped
1/3 cup water
Sea salt to taste

Combine the above ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat about 15 min. Cool, transfer contents to the food processor and blend til smooth. Return to saucepan and add:

1 lb mushrooms, chopped
1 lb spinach, chopped

Simmer another 10 min over low heat.

Pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a dash of salt and add 12 strips of whole wheat lasagna. Simmer uncovered for 10 min.

Preheat the oven to 350.
Use a 13" x 9" baking pan. Your layering should go like this:
Sauce
3 strips Pasta
Cheese
3 strips Pasta
Sauce
3 strips Pasta
Cheese
3 strips Pasta
Sauce

Bake in the oven for 45 min and then let set for at least another 30 min before serving. Serves about 6, or 3 days of meals for 2. Goes great with a spinach salad!

Vegan Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of the things I missed a great deal when going vegan. This tofu-based alternative recipe is light, fluffy, creamy, easy to make, and not nearly as caloric.

Preheat oven to 375.

For the crust:
Crumble 1.5 cups Graham crackers (about 2 sleeves)
Pour directly into a 9" pie or cake dish
Add 3 tbsp veg oil and 3 tbsp water
Mix until a thick paste forms, roll into a ball in the center of the pan. Use your fingers to spread and press until pan is covered (covering the sides not essential.)

For the filling:
2 14 oz packages of medium firm tofu, drained
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c veg oil
1/2 c agave syrup
1/4 c sugar

Put the above ingredients in the food processor and blend til smooth. Pour into baking pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. It will appear slightly risen on the edges but not in the center. It will look fairly firm but is still going to be soft, so be careful.

Allow it to cool a few minutes and then optionally top with fresh fruit (strawberries with the bottoms dipped in agave are a good choice.) Chill in the fridge overnight. Serves about 6.

The World's Best Vegan Pancake Recipe

This is an adaptation of the Candle 79 recipe, which calls for white flour, a substance banned in my kitchen. My use of whole wheat did not detract from these pancakes awesome fluffiness. I also opted for a soy-free version.

Combine:
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinammon
1 tbsp Ener-G egg replacer (dry, not combined with water)

Mix well, then add:
1/4 cup Earth Balance spread, melted**
2 cups almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Use a whisk to fold ingredients together until fully combined into a thick batter.

Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray over medium heat. Wait a minute or two for pan to heat up, then ladle a nice healthy dollop of batter into the pan. You can do huge IHOP style pancakes or several smaller silver-dollar type. You will know it is time to flip when bubbles have formed and then popped around the edges: about 2-3 min per side.

Enjoy topped with maple or agave syrup and fresh fruits.

** I use the Soy Free variety of this excellent, chemical-free and hydrogynated oil-free brand. You could use any butter substitute but try to avoid those laden with chemicals. I melt mine in a little dish in the toaster oven.

Raw Vegan Lasagna

This "lasagna," another recipe adapted from the Candle 79 Cookbook, does not require pasta-- or cooking! It does require a food processor, and nutritional yeast, which creates a cheese flavor and also is a massive powerhouse of B vitamins. Also, all of the vegetables are currently in season and came from the farmer's market!

The Parts:
Cashew Cheese
Soak 3 cups of raw cashews in water for 6-8 hours. Rinse and drain.
Add:
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water
Process in food processor until smooth (it will take a while.)
Add:
6 basil leaves and a tbsp parsley, chopped fine, mix well

Tomato Sauce
2 large tomatoes
1/4 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 basil leaf
Salt and pepper
Cut the veggies into large chunks and pulse 3-4 times in the food processor

Pesto
1 cup basil leaves
1 cup fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup pine nuts**
Place all in food processor and puree.
** I couldn't find pine nuts in my neighborhood so I used a melange of raw sunflower seeds and raw pumpkin seeds, about a half cup total, and it didn't seem to detract in the slightest.

Raw Vegetables
2-3 big tomatoes, sliced
2-3 zucchini or yellow squash, halved and sliced very thin length-wise
1/2 onion, chopped, and soaked in a tbsp of olive oil and a juice of half a lemon, with a dash of salt and pepper
(The original recipe calls also for sliced mushrooms but I had none so I skipped it.)

The process:
Create a tower:
Spoon of tomato sauce
3 slices squash
Dollop (heaping tbsp)  of cashew cheese
Slice of tomato
Spoon of onion
Repeat once.
Top with another spoon of tomato sauce and a healthy dollop of pesto.

One squash and one large tomato makes about 2 "lasagne" servings. I had enough "cheese" and pesto for 4 servings total. The towers will be probably be a little messy and precarious.

This seems complicated but in actuality it took maybe 25 min because basically all of the "cooking" consists of using the food processor. It was even yummier the next day.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

This is another one from the Candle 79 Cookbook, which is super simple and quite decadent. In my usual fashion, I didn't totally stick to the recipe.

The original recipe calls for:
2.5 cups semisweet dark chocolate chips
1 cup soy milk
1 lb silken tofu
3/4 cup maple syrup

I used:
1 70-percent cocoa chocolate bar (about a cup of chocolate)
1 cup soy mlik
1 14-oz package of silken tofu
1/2 cup agave

Either way, what you do is dissolve the chocolate in the soy milk over a double boiler. Add the mixture to the tofu and sweetener, blend in the blender for about 3 min. Pour into cups and chill in the fridge overnight.

The whole process takes about 20 min, tops, and the result is a super-yummy and relatively low-fat dessert!

Black Bean Burgers

This dish is from the Candle 79 cookbook, which contains recipes made at the very upscale vegan restaurant Candle 79. Most of the recipes in this book either A. Would take me all day to make or B. Involve ingredients which are difficult to find and probably expensive. This was one of the simpler recipes (still much more time-consuming than my usual cooking), and the only things I omitted were a piece of kombu (sea vegetable) and I used regular chile powder instead of chipotle. 

It requires:
1.5 cups dried black beans
1.5 cups brown rice
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 onion
Paprika, chili powder, olive oil, salt

Soak the beans overnight, drain, re-cover with water, and add a tsp of chili powder, 1 chopped onion, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook 1.5 hrs in a regular pot or about 15 min in the pressure cooker.

Meanwhile add 3 c water and a pinch of salt to the brown rice, cook 45 min in a regular pot or about 20 in the pressure cooker.

Saute the pumpkin seeds in olive oil , pinch of salt, and a tsp of paprika (the recipe called for "smoked paprika" so I added a splash of liquid smoke flavor) about 5 min on medium heat until browned.

Combine these 3 ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Take half of the mixture and puree it in the food processor, then mix it again. You should now have a not-too-goopy mix you can form into patties. Make patties about 3 inches wide and one inch thick and fry in olive oil, about 2 min on each side. Baking is also an option: grease a pan with olive oil and bake at 350, 15 min per side.

I served these initially on whole wheat buns with the traditional lettuce and ketchup. A more interesting choice would be to top them with salsa and avocado.

Chickpea Meatless Balls

 This is a yummy and healthy alternative to the traditional spaghetti and meatballs.

Put 2 slices of whole wheat toast, a pinch of salt, and a liberal sprinkle of Italian herbs in the food processor. Blend until bread crumbs are produced. (You could use packaged crumbs, but why, when this is cheaper, healthier, and takes 15 seconds.) Pour crumbs into bowl.

Put 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained, (save the water) in the food processor and blend until a crumbly texture is achieved. Combine with bread crumbs, mix well. 

Add 2 Ener-G egg replacers or 2 beaten eggs to the mix, mix well.

Place entire contents back into the food processor, add water from  chickpeas a tbsp at a time while blending until a thick paste is formed. (Err on the side of less water, if it becomes liquidy all hope is lost.)

Form the paste into meatball-sized balls.

In a large saucepan, saute 1 onion and 1 garlic clove in olive oil until soft. Add the remaining water from the chickpeas, a quarter cup ketchup*, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, another generous sprinkle of Italian herbs, and a tbsp of nutritional yeast**. Stir well, then drop the balls in carefully. They should be about half covered, if there is too little gravy add a bit more water.

Simmer on low heat for about 25 min. Periodically gently turn the balls over with a spoon. They are not going to become hard, but should somewhat congeal.

Serve over pasta or alone.

*This is a recipe which as far as I know was invented by my father, who due to having lived through WWII has certain poverty foods he is attached to, such as pasta sauce made with ketchup and baked beans on toast. Having grown up eating these dishes made by him, there is a comfort-food factor in the flavor of a ketchup-based sauce for me. If you find the idea of seasoning with ketchup unbearable this dish would probably also be fine if the balls were cooked in tomato sauce.

** Nutritional yeast, which is not used in my father's version, gives the sauce a rich, cheesy flavor and is also chock-full of Vitamin B12.

Vegan Blueberry Pancakes

 This is a very simple, quick, and low-fat recipe.

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 c soymilk or almond milk
3 tbsp Ener-G egg replacer + 2 tbsp warm water**
Blueberries

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk in wet ingredients until a batter is formed. Add about a cup of blueberries and mix well. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan and drop in clumps of batter by the heaping tablespoon. This batter is thicker and less liquidy than normal pancake batter and the pancakes will come out more like very soft biscuits. Fry each side on medium heat for about 5 min or until brown and crispy. Top with real maple syrup or agave and Earth Balance vegetable oil spread.

** There may be other ways to replace the eggs in the standard pancake recipe, such as silken tofu, but I find this brand, which is made from potato starch and calcium carbonate, thickens up nicely and is very inexpensive. You can find it at most health-food stores.

Roasted Beet and Fennel Melange

I made this with everything fresh from the farmer's market:

3 beets, peeled and cut into chunks
2 apples, cored and cut into chunks
3 fennel bulbs, sliced thin
3 carrots, cut into chunks

Marinated in:
2 tbsps olive oil
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp agave
1 tsp dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Bake at 400 degrees in a roasting pan until beets are soft (took about 1.5 hours)

Trini Curry Channa

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. You need a particular type of curry: Chief brand Trinidadian curry powder, which is not very spicy and exceptionally yummy.

Chop a large onion and a clove of garlic and saute in about a tbsp of vegetable oil til soft.
Add 2 heaping tbsps of curry, plus a sprinkle of salt and pepper and a dash of cumin, stir until the veggies are coated and saute for another 3 min, watching carefully to ensure it doesn't burn. Add 4-8 leaves of cilantro and saute another minute.
Once curry is very lightly browned, add 3 cups of cooked chickpeas (channa) with about 3 tbsps of the liquid from the cooked beans. Stir thoroughly until the peas are well-coated in the veggies and spice. Simmer covered on a low heat for about 12 min, until some, but not all, of the liquid is absorbed.

This is delicious over brown rice, with Basmati being the best option. This is also absolutely superb paired with roti if you can obtain it.

There is another version with potatoes which I find harder to make because the cooking time for the potatoes is tricky. I also find it too starchy with the rice. However, if you wish to use potatoes, I would suggest partially boiling them separately, cutting them into small chunks, and adding them to the mix a few minutes before you add the beans, and using about 2 tbsps more water.

Vegetable Rice with Black Eyed Peas

I like thyme combined with black-eyed peas in this simple yet hearty recipe.

Place 2 cups of brown rice, 5 cups water, a generous sprinkle of garlic, pinch of thyme, pinch of salt, and splash of oil in a pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer 35 min.

In a separate pot, combine 3 cups of cooked black eyed peas, 2 chopped tomatoes, 1 chopped onion, and 4 stalks of chopped celery. Add about a half cup of water (more if beans are drained) and a half vegetable boullion cube. Start simmering this when the rice is 10 min from finished.

Once the rice is done, add the rice to the beans pot and stir well. Simmer the entire medley another 5-10 min until most, but not all, the liquid is absorbed.

2 Raw Recipes

In my continuing battle against my slowly-improving face rash, I decided to adopt a mostly raw-foods diet for the week to try to boost nutrients back into my system. Mostly I've been eating fruits, nuts, dried fruits, and salads, but to mix things up, I prepared these two dishes:

Guacamole
Half a ripe avocado and scoop out the insides into a bowl.
Add the fresh-squeezed juice of one lemon.
Add pinch of salt.
Mash vigorously with a fork until creamy.

I personally prefer this to other styles with tomato etc and a bowl of it eaten with a spoon did nicely for dinner last night. The high fat content keeps you from feeling like you're going to die of starvation while eating raw.

Raw Banana "Ice Cream"
Peel and mash two overripe bananas. 
Add a tsp of raw agave syrup, mix well.
Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and a dash of vanilla extract. (Are these raw? I'm not sure. They are tasty. Please do not alert the Raw Police.)
Put into container with lid and freeze for about 4 hours. Top with walnuts. 

Breakfast Porridge

This is a great way to use leftover cooked grain from dinner the night before and can be done with any grain such as brown rice, quinoa, kasha. I used bulghur wheat left over from my taboulli.

2 cups bulghur wheat, cooked (or other whole grain)
1 cup almond milk (soy would also be fine, and high protein)
1 tbsp agave syrup (you can use honey, which isn't vegan, if you choose, or maple syrup-- agave has the lowest glycemic index)
Pinch of cinammon, nutmeg, and cardamom (all have anti-inflammatory agents)
1/4 cup dried fruit (I used raisins and dried cranberries)

Combine in a saucepan and simmer on medium heat until it thickens into a soupy paste similar to oatmeal. Delicious warm or cold.