So, I kinda haven't updated this in nearly a year...Why? Well, in the last year I had to stop being vegan for a while to prepare my stomach to eat dairy and eggs while traveling to Romania and Switzerland (Europe doesn't do gluten free vegan). Plus, while in another country I think that it's important to indulge in local fare as much as possible. Since I cannot bring myself to eat the flesh of another animal and physically can't tolerate gluten, giving in for animal by-products was pretty much my only choice. On top of that I had to move out of my lovely apartment this year into a much much smaller in-law unit with a kitchen the size of a large bathtub. This small kitchen, along with the fact that I conquered an epic 19 units with an internship this semester didn't leave me with much time or space to have fun in the kitchen like I used to. I pretty much spent the last six months eating quinoa with store bought pasta sauce on top of it. So it goes... Lastly, I have had some major dietary philosophy changes over the past year. I have been focusing on eating foods that are organic, healthy, and, when possible, in season and local. This means no more mass quantities of soy, corn syrup, cupcakes, Mexico tomatoes, hydrogenated oil based frosting and fillings, etcetera. This also means I have been cheating vegan a bit more. If something is offered to me and is gluten free and healthy but has eggs in it, I won't turn it down as quickly as I once did (though I still turn it down a lot). Oh, and no more banana's as egg substitutes. Though I love banana's and they are choc full of vitamins, I find it difficult to justify buying something from the other side of the equator on a frequent basis. Flax seeds are just dandy for me.
Enough of my food snobbery, onto some local, seasonal goodness...
Squash and black bean tacos with greens
Ingredients:
2 small delicata squash (though any winter squash will do)
16 oz. black beans, cooked, drained
1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 a red chili, minced
1 bunch (2 packed cups? dandelion greens), coarsely chopped
1 tbs cumin
2 tsp sea salt
1 tbs oil of choice
6-10 corn tortillas, warmed
For garnish:
chopped cilantro
salsa (I liked the Double Fire Roasted Salsa from Trader Joe's)
Nutritional yeast
The recipe:
Cut the squash in half, scoop the seeds out, and plop into a bot of boiling water. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes, or until you can cut the skin with a fairly blunt object.
While the squash is boiling combine oil, onions, salt, chili and cumin in a pan and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add black beans and cook for another 5 minutes (stirring constantly so beans don't stick and burn!)
Turn down the heat and toss in the garlic and the greens. Put a lid on the pan and let steam for 2-5 minutes.
Turn heat back up and continuously stir for another 2 minutes.
Spoon out squash (you can eat the skins, but they're best left out for this recipe)and smear on the tortillas (as if it was hummus or an avocado)
Spoon a few scoops of the veggie/bean mix on top
Garnish with cilantro, salsa, and nutritional yeast
Yum!
P.S. Everything except the spices, tortillas, and salsa came from the farmers market and this really cool little company called Santa Cruz Local Foods (santacruzlocalfoods.com) Check 'em out. They're pretty awesome, and they have an adorable new(ish) baby. Double score!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
A vegan/gluten free guide to Riverside
A few weeks ago my friend Marina asked me how to be vegan in Riverside. I was very honored by this question and had a fun time remembering all the yummy food that was eaten in Riverside. While writing this I have realized how much harder it is to be vegan/gluten free in Riverside and my heart goes out to all of you that are still there and not here (Bay Area). This list is not specifically gluten free although I have gone through and edited it to have a few gluten free tips. Riverside, this one's for you!
First things first: get some good cookbooks. Unfortunately there are not really any good small bookstores in Riverside that have have awesome cookbooks. Borders and Barnes and Noble have some but they are yucky stores. La Sierra Market (which I'll tell you about later) has a few good ones but not too many. I'll put a * next to the ones that you can find at Barnes and Noble/Borders and the rest are on the internet. They are also in order of ones that I think are the tastiest/easiest (best) to the ones that are a bit more decadent or don't have great recipes. Mind you also, I am a cookbook fiend, you do not need as many cookbooks as I have because I'm a little crazy haha.
*Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskawitz
*Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa/Terry Hope Romero
*Veganomicon by Isa/ Terry
*Vegan Brunch by Isa
(Can you tell that I'm kind of in love with this woman? She is one of the most prominent vegan authors out right now. She also has a cooking show/website theppk.com and Vegan Brunch has an epic recipe for chocolate beer waffles -seriously- how could I not be in love? *I am still working on trying to figure out how to make the waffles gluten free, I'll let ya'll know a.s.a.p.)
Hot Damn and Hell Yea by Ryan Splint
*The complete vegan handbook by Deborah Wasserman
(This one isn't great for food. Don't get me wrong, the recipes are tasty but they're not fabulous. However, it does have a lot of good information on veganism and the ethics of veganism.)
The following three I havn't tried yet but I just bought and they seem really yummy. I will, of course, update you as soon as I try 'em out.
*The Gluten Free Vegan by Suzan O'Brian
*Flying Aprons (gluten free vegan baking) by Jennifer Katzinger, Shauna James Ahern, and Kathryn Barnard
*Babycakes by Erin McKenna
This is a good start. There are tons of others but they kinda depend on your preference of foods. There's vegan Thai, Mexican, soul food, etc... just be careful because there are a lot of books out there that call for crazy ass ingredients that cost 13$ and you'll never use for anything other than that recipe. I really like the more anarchist self published cookbooks because they are more resourceful and call for cheaper ingredients. Hot Damn and Hell Yea is one of those cookbooks. If you want more of those I can buy them from the stores in San Francisco and send them to you or you could buy them from amazon, or preferably, microcosmpublishing.com/ (remember for buying cookbooks -or anything for that matter- local stores>the internet>corporate stores) But seriously, I really strongly suggest that you buy Vegan with a Vengeance first. I'm kinda biased because that's the first vegan cookbook I ever used, but I still think that it is the best, especially if you are new to cooking. She's very good at explaining ingredients and is really good at dumbing things down and giving you alternative ways to do things (for instance you need to use a double boiler but you don't have one so she tells you how to do it with out having to go buy new kitchen stuff).
Along with the books I suggest you check out vegweb.com (all vegetarian but not completely vegan or gluten free), http://glutenfreevegan.wordpress.com/ (awesome gluten free vegan blog), recipezaar.com (not all vegan or wheat free, but inclusive of both), and, of course, denstripea.blogspot.com Also, just google vegan/ gluten free recipes and you'll find lots of good recipes and food blogs.
Now, where to find this food...
Ralphs is pretty good at having vegan options around now and even Albertsons has vegan butter substitutes and tofu. But it is harder and more expensive to shop there and those stores just suck. Here I will list some of my favorite independent grocers that I have found to be very helpful.
Japanese Grocery
9552 Magnolia (corner of Magnolia and Van Buren next to Joes sushi)
They have cheap tofu, soy sauce, veggies, cheap rice, and lots of other strange ingredients that you either won't find at a corporate store or will get charged too much for at a corporate store.
Kings Market
10218 Indiana Avenue (near Tyler)
This is an Arabic market. They have suuuuuuper cheap spices and good prices on beans, hummus, bread, and other middle eastern specialty groceries. They also have cheap beer and cigarettes...just saying.
India sweets and grocery
779 West Blaine Street (near Iowa)
Indian specialty food and produce all dirt cheap. They also have a deli inside that is completely vegetarian. They have a thing called the Tali Special for 2.99$ They'll make it vegan if you ask and it's more food that I can usually eat.
La Sierra Natural Foods
11550 Pierce Street (near La Sierra University)
Completely vegetarian food store and burger shack. They have every meat and dairy substitute you could ever dream of and a wide selection of gluten free items. Some things are a bit pricey (their soy milk is usually a few cents more than the grocery store) but some things are a lot cheaper. Just pay attention to the prices. The burger shack out front has a few really good vegan options (vegan potato taquitos= omfg!)
Goodwins
191 West Big Springs Road
They are okay. Really pricey but have good vegan and gluten free items. They're dumpsters are usually full and really easy to get in to.
Clarks
4225 Market Street, Riverside (near 14th)
Natural food store. Similar to La Sierra Natural Foods but with more vitamins. Lot's of good vegan/gluten free substitute foods and bulk foods. They also have a little deli out front with a couple vegan options including a super yummy and super cheap breakfast burrito. This place is also really good at throwing away a lot of usable produce.
There are a couple more little markets that I can't think of off hand. Downtown especially has a decent amount of Hispanic grocers and Indian grocers that are full of vegan wonders, just keep your eyes open. I knew that Kings Market was a liquor store for years but had no idea that they had so much food because I always just glanced and assumed that everything was junk food.
There are also the farmers markets including:
5261 Arlington Av. (at Magnolia in the Sears parking lot) every Friday 8:30am-noon
There is also one downtown at the pedestrian mall on Main st. but I couldn't find it on the internet, I'm assuming that it doesn't happen during the winter time but keep an eye out for it. It used to be on Saturday mornings.
When looking at foods make sure to avoid some sneaky non-vegan ingredients such as casein (a milk protein) which is found in many soy/rice/nut cheeses, calcium stearoyl lactylate(a calcium source from bones), lactose, lactic acid (unless specified that it's vegetable derived), gelatin (gelatinized wheat flour/gelatinized flour is vegan but not gluten free), whey (milk protein), glycerin (unless specified that it's vegetable based), red 4 (dye made of beetle wings in a lot of make up, sometimes in food). Some vegans choose to ignore these things but it is really up to you. I avoid them all but in a pinch I'll ignore a calcium source or two...(don't judge me).
In case you're too lazy to read the cookbooks and cook the food Riverside has a pretty good amount of vegan friendly restaurants. A good resource to have is happycow.net You can type in pretty much any city in the world and it will tell you a list of vegan restaurants and food stores in the town. My favorite places to eat are the deli's listed above.
Pizza Kiln
12625 Frederick Street, Moreno Valley
Super yummy pizza, anyone know if they have a gluten free option?
Simple Simons
3639 Main St, Riverside
They have one vegan sandwich. It pretty much rules. I believe the only gluten free item they have is salad.
Back to the Grind
3575 University Ave, Riverside
This is dominantly a coffee shop. They occasionally have vegan food options and always have vegan cookies and baked goods. Talene is also a dear and will occasionally makes gluten free yummies. God bless you Talene.
Collette the Tamale Lady
Wanders the streets of downtown
Collette (who you may know from various IE Food Not Bombs chapters) now sells tamales down town. They are usually vegan (she'll tell you if they are or aren't) and often gluten free (sometimes they contain fake meat which is gluten based). She doesn't have a set time/day/location but you can check her myspace here: http://www.myspace.com/332163052
These are pretty much the only “vegan” things left in Riverside but there is a lot more hiding. Mexican food is easily vegan if you ask them to hold the cheese and sour cream (and make sure they don't use sour cream in their guacamole). Also make sure that there is no meat or lard in their beans and no chicken bullion in their rice. For gluten just order everything with corn tortillas instead of flour. Thai food is vegan if you get it with tofu instead of meat. Make sure tempuras are not made with egg and that they use only coconut milk and not cow milk. For gluten concerns make sure that there is no soy sauce involved and that any fried foods aren't fried with breaded foods. Tempura is sometimes gluten free, just ask what kind of flour they use. Chinese and Japanese foods are also easily vegan/gluten free if you ask the same questions. Indian food is generally vegetarian but frequently put butter in their food so ask them to hold the butter or what items they have that do not contain it. Arabic food is almost always vegan if it isn't meat, just double check that there isn't cheese on it. Both Arabic and Indian food is all gluten free with the exception of breads and phylo dough.
This is all I can think of at the moment. I havn't been to Riverside in quite a while but I'll be home soon and do some more research. I hope this helps all you Riversideans and people that will (for some God forsaken reason) visit/move to Riverside in the future.
First things first: get some good cookbooks. Unfortunately there are not really any good small bookstores in Riverside that have have awesome cookbooks. Borders and Barnes and Noble have some but they are yucky stores. La Sierra Market (which I'll tell you about later) has a few good ones but not too many. I'll put a * next to the ones that you can find at Barnes and Noble/Borders and the rest are on the internet. They are also in order of ones that I think are the tastiest/easiest (best) to the ones that are a bit more decadent or don't have great recipes. Mind you also, I am a cookbook fiend, you do not need as many cookbooks as I have because I'm a little crazy haha.
*Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskawitz
*Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa/Terry Hope Romero
*Veganomicon by Isa/ Terry
*Vegan Brunch by Isa
(Can you tell that I'm kind of in love with this woman? She is one of the most prominent vegan authors out right now. She also has a cooking show/website theppk.com and Vegan Brunch has an epic recipe for chocolate beer waffles -seriously- how could I not be in love? *I am still working on trying to figure out how to make the waffles gluten free, I'll let ya'll know a.s.a.p.)
Hot Damn and Hell Yea by Ryan Splint
*The complete vegan handbook by Deborah Wasserman
(This one isn't great for food. Don't get me wrong, the recipes are tasty but they're not fabulous. However, it does have a lot of good information on veganism and the ethics of veganism.)
The following three I havn't tried yet but I just bought and they seem really yummy. I will, of course, update you as soon as I try 'em out.
*The Gluten Free Vegan by Suzan O'Brian
*Flying Aprons (gluten free vegan baking) by Jennifer Katzinger, Shauna James Ahern, and Kathryn Barnard
*Babycakes by Erin McKenna
This is a good start. There are tons of others but they kinda depend on your preference of foods. There's vegan Thai, Mexican, soul food, etc... just be careful because there are a lot of books out there that call for crazy ass ingredients that cost 13$ and you'll never use for anything other than that recipe. I really like the more anarchist self published cookbooks because they are more resourceful and call for cheaper ingredients. Hot Damn and Hell Yea is one of those cookbooks. If you want more of those I can buy them from the stores in San Francisco and send them to you or you could buy them from amazon, or preferably, microcosmpublishing.com/ (remember for buying cookbooks -or anything for that matter- local stores>the internet>corporate stores) But seriously, I really strongly suggest that you buy Vegan with a Vengeance first. I'm kinda biased because that's the first vegan cookbook I ever used, but I still think that it is the best, especially if you are new to cooking. She's very good at explaining ingredients and is really good at dumbing things down and giving you alternative ways to do things (for instance you need to use a double boiler but you don't have one so she tells you how to do it with out having to go buy new kitchen stuff).
Along with the books I suggest you check out vegweb.com (all vegetarian but not completely vegan or gluten free), http://glutenfreevegan.wordpress.com/ (awesome gluten free vegan blog), recipezaar.com (not all vegan or wheat free, but inclusive of both), and, of course, denstripea.blogspot.com Also, just google vegan/ gluten free recipes and you'll find lots of good recipes and food blogs.
Now, where to find this food...
Ralphs is pretty good at having vegan options around now and even Albertsons has vegan butter substitutes and tofu. But it is harder and more expensive to shop there and those stores just suck. Here I will list some of my favorite independent grocers that I have found to be very helpful.
Japanese Grocery
9552 Magnolia (corner of Magnolia and Van Buren next to Joes sushi)
They have cheap tofu, soy sauce, veggies, cheap rice, and lots of other strange ingredients that you either won't find at a corporate store or will get charged too much for at a corporate store.
Kings Market
10218 Indiana Avenue (near Tyler)
This is an Arabic market. They have suuuuuuper cheap spices and good prices on beans, hummus, bread, and other middle eastern specialty groceries. They also have cheap beer and cigarettes...just saying.
India sweets and grocery
779 West Blaine Street (near Iowa)
Indian specialty food and produce all dirt cheap. They also have a deli inside that is completely vegetarian. They have a thing called the Tali Special for 2.99$ They'll make it vegan if you ask and it's more food that I can usually eat.
La Sierra Natural Foods
11550 Pierce Street (near La Sierra University)
Completely vegetarian food store and burger shack. They have every meat and dairy substitute you could ever dream of and a wide selection of gluten free items. Some things are a bit pricey (their soy milk is usually a few cents more than the grocery store) but some things are a lot cheaper. Just pay attention to the prices. The burger shack out front has a few really good vegan options (vegan potato taquitos= omfg!)
Goodwins
191 West Big Springs Road
They are okay. Really pricey but have good vegan and gluten free items. They're dumpsters are usually full and really easy to get in to.
Clarks
4225 Market Street, Riverside (near 14th)
Natural food store. Similar to La Sierra Natural Foods but with more vitamins. Lot's of good vegan/gluten free substitute foods and bulk foods. They also have a little deli out front with a couple vegan options including a super yummy and super cheap breakfast burrito. This place is also really good at throwing away a lot of usable produce.
There are a couple more little markets that I can't think of off hand. Downtown especially has a decent amount of Hispanic grocers and Indian grocers that are full of vegan wonders, just keep your eyes open. I knew that Kings Market was a liquor store for years but had no idea that they had so much food because I always just glanced and assumed that everything was junk food.
There are also the farmers markets including:
5261 Arlington Av. (at Magnolia in the Sears parking lot) every Friday 8:30am-noon
There is also one downtown at the pedestrian mall on Main st. but I couldn't find it on the internet, I'm assuming that it doesn't happen during the winter time but keep an eye out for it. It used to be on Saturday mornings.
When looking at foods make sure to avoid some sneaky non-vegan ingredients such as casein (a milk protein) which is found in many soy/rice/nut cheeses, calcium stearoyl lactylate(a calcium source from bones), lactose, lactic acid (unless specified that it's vegetable derived), gelatin (gelatinized wheat flour/gelatinized flour is vegan but not gluten free), whey (milk protein), glycerin (unless specified that it's vegetable based), red 4 (dye made of beetle wings in a lot of make up, sometimes in food). Some vegans choose to ignore these things but it is really up to you. I avoid them all but in a pinch I'll ignore a calcium source or two...(don't judge me).
In case you're too lazy to read the cookbooks and cook the food Riverside has a pretty good amount of vegan friendly restaurants. A good resource to have is happycow.net You can type in pretty much any city in the world and it will tell you a list of vegan restaurants and food stores in the town. My favorite places to eat are the deli's listed above.
Pizza Kiln
12625 Frederick Street, Moreno Valley
Super yummy pizza, anyone know if they have a gluten free option?
Simple Simons
3639 Main St, Riverside
They have one vegan sandwich. It pretty much rules. I believe the only gluten free item they have is salad.
Back to the Grind
3575 University Ave, Riverside
This is dominantly a coffee shop. They occasionally have vegan food options and always have vegan cookies and baked goods. Talene is also a dear and will occasionally makes gluten free yummies. God bless you Talene.
Collette the Tamale Lady
Wanders the streets of downtown
Collette (who you may know from various IE Food Not Bombs chapters) now sells tamales down town. They are usually vegan (she'll tell you if they are or aren't) and often gluten free (sometimes they contain fake meat which is gluten based). She doesn't have a set time/day/location but you can check her myspace here: http://www.myspace.com/332163052
These are pretty much the only “vegan” things left in Riverside but there is a lot more hiding. Mexican food is easily vegan if you ask them to hold the cheese and sour cream (and make sure they don't use sour cream in their guacamole). Also make sure that there is no meat or lard in their beans and no chicken bullion in their rice. For gluten just order everything with corn tortillas instead of flour. Thai food is vegan if you get it with tofu instead of meat. Make sure tempuras are not made with egg and that they use only coconut milk and not cow milk. For gluten concerns make sure that there is no soy sauce involved and that any fried foods aren't fried with breaded foods. Tempura is sometimes gluten free, just ask what kind of flour they use. Chinese and Japanese foods are also easily vegan/gluten free if you ask the same questions. Indian food is generally vegetarian but frequently put butter in their food so ask them to hold the butter or what items they have that do not contain it. Arabic food is almost always vegan if it isn't meat, just double check that there isn't cheese on it. Both Arabic and Indian food is all gluten free with the exception of breads and phylo dough.
This is all I can think of at the moment. I havn't been to Riverside in quite a while but I'll be home soon and do some more research. I hope this helps all you Riversideans and people that will (for some God forsaken reason) visit/move to Riverside in the future.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
peppermint buttercreams.
Christmas has gotten the best of me. I've listened to Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses at least thirty times, packages have been sent to Riversiders, the lights are up, my tree is decorated, hell, I've even sent out my Christmas cards! I havn't been able to bake my normal Christmas cookies this year because it just makes me miss too many people a bit too much, so instead I made these little candies. They're super Christmas-ey and pretty easy to make. I adapted this recipe from a butter cream enthusiast website which can be seen here:http://www.chocolate-candy-mall.com/chocolate-covered-buttercream-candy-recipe.html
My version:
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. mint extract
1/2 cup plus 1 tbs. earth balance
3 tbs. soy creamer
12 oz. vegan wheat free chocolate chips (trader joes are the best for the price)
2 tbs. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 candy canes (crushed)
wax or parchment paper
-Mix powdered sugar, mint, 1/2 c. earth balance, and creamer together. This works best with your hands. make sure it's very well mixed so you don't have any super minty bites and some super boring bites.
-roll mix into 1 inch balls and chill overnight.
-melt chocolate, vanilla, 1 tbs earth balance, and 1/2 the oil in a double boiler. If the chocolate still seems a bit too dry add the rest of the oil.
- dip balls into chocolate, squish one side into the crushed candy canes, then set on wax paper to cool.
*I've found it's easiest to dip one side in chocolate, let it dry, then dip the other side in. But do whatever is easiest for you.
My version:
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. mint extract
1/2 cup plus 1 tbs. earth balance
3 tbs. soy creamer
12 oz. vegan wheat free chocolate chips (trader joes are the best for the price)
2 tbs. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 candy canes (crushed)
wax or parchment paper
-Mix powdered sugar, mint, 1/2 c. earth balance, and creamer together. This works best with your hands. make sure it's very well mixed so you don't have any super minty bites and some super boring bites.
-roll mix into 1 inch balls and chill overnight.
-melt chocolate, vanilla, 1 tbs earth balance, and 1/2 the oil in a double boiler. If the chocolate still seems a bit too dry add the rest of the oil.
- dip balls into chocolate, squish one side into the crushed candy canes, then set on wax paper to cool.
*I've found it's easiest to dip one side in chocolate, let it dry, then dip the other side in. But do whatever is easiest for you.
Friday, December 18, 2009
famous cake!
Okay, well maybe famous is a bit of an exaggeration, but it's their myspace default picture! This cake wasn't wheat free but it was vegan. If I remember correctly it was a betty crocker box of chocolate cake made with strawberry soda and kosher frosting. It was one of the first cake's I baked and was actually a collaborative effort with Josh and Lachlin. We baked this cake to convince Mischief Brew to come play a show in Southern California. It worked! and it was a grrrrrrreat show! Check out their epic music here: or
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
carrot cake rice pudding!
This is one of those recipes that was invented by going through my food stash and saying "well, this might work" or "this needs to be used sooner rather than later...". I havn't tried it on too many people yet but the kids who were at the SFSU business building occupation last week sure seemed to enjoy it! This is also soy and nut free and can be sugar free.
*if you can't find fresh cardamom use dried seed pods. using the pre-ground cardamom powder really, really doesn't do this recipe justice.
Makes enough for 4 desserts or 3ish breakfasts.
ingredients
-2 cups of brown rice
-1 shredded carrot
-1/2 cup raisins
-1/3 the seeds from one fresh pod of cardamom (chopped)
-2 cups (ish) rice milk
-1/2 cup agave or sugar
-1/3 cup shredded coconut
-cook the rice.
-cover rice with rice milk so that there is about one inch of milk over the rice.
-cover, cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes.
-stir in agave and cardamom. continue to cook until the milk is gone and the rice is the consistency of, well, rice pudding.
-stir in coconut, raisins, and carrots about ten minutes before removing from heat. If you forget to do this just add 1/4 cup more milk and and cook for 15 more minutes.
Serve warm.
*if you can't find fresh cardamom use dried seed pods. using the pre-ground cardamom powder really, really doesn't do this recipe justice.
Makes enough for 4 desserts or 3ish breakfasts.
ingredients
-2 cups of brown rice
-1 shredded carrot
-1/2 cup raisins
-1/3 the seeds from one fresh pod of cardamom (chopped)
-2 cups (ish) rice milk
-1/2 cup agave or sugar
-1/3 cup shredded coconut
-cook the rice.
-cover rice with rice milk so that there is about one inch of milk over the rice.
-cover, cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes.
-stir in agave and cardamom. continue to cook until the milk is gone and the rice is the consistency of, well, rice pudding.
-stir in coconut, raisins, and carrots about ten minutes before removing from heat. If you forget to do this just add 1/4 cup more milk and and cook for 15 more minutes.
Serve warm.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
split pea dahl
This recipe is great if you have to cook for a lot of people. It is gluten free, soy free, nut free, and, of course, vegan so it's perfect for potlucks and other occasions where there are lot's of picky and allergy ridden people around.
This recipe makes enough to serve 4 very hungry people or 6 regularly hungry people.
ingredients:
-2 cups yellow split peas
-2 cups white or brown basmati or jasmine rice
-1 bell pepper
-2 carrots
-1.5 cups cauliflower
-1 small red onion
- 1/2 to one cup coconut milk
-1 cup raisins
-1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened, or not)
-2 tbls si racha rooster sauce
-some olive oil and/or earth balance
-3 tbls red curry
-1 tsp. tumeric
-a few pinches of cinnamon and/or nutmeg
-pinch of cumin
-pinch of salt
-cut cauliflower into bit size pieces, dice bell peppers, and chop carrots. Place cauliflower in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes. Once cauliflower starts to get a bit mushy add bell peppers and steam until both are sufficiently baby food status.
-boil the carrots over medium heat until they're somewhere between crunchy and mushy (about 10-15 minutes).
-While this is steaming start cooking the split peas and rice (especially if you're using brown rice). To cook the peas add 1 peas to a little less than 2 cups of boiling water. Bring water back to a boil then reduce to low/medium heat and cover. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes then start stirring every ten minutes until the peas have become a paste.
-Saute onion in 2 tbs of olive oil/earth balance until translucent. Once onions are almost done add curry, tumeric, cumin, salt, and cinnamon. Once this becomes very fragrant, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of coconut milk.
-Once the cauliflower and bell pepers are done place them in a blender and add the onion coconut milk mix and si raca sauce. Pulse until the mixture is completely pasty adding more coconut milk if it looks too dry. Make sure to lift the lid of the blender to let the steam out after every three pulses or so to avoid a crazy volcanic explosion of hot food. (This stuff does not come off of ceilings very easily, trust me.)
-Add this mix into the split pea mush and mix it up, again adding more coconut milk if it seems too dry.
-Taste dish and adjust spices accordingly.
-Mix in carrot pieces.
-Put raisins in a heat proof bowl and cover with boiling water for 5-10 minutes (this makes them plump and juicy). drain.
Serve dahl with rice and offer raisins, coconut, and extra si racha sauce for toppings. This is also really yummy to eat with na'an if you're not gluten free.
This recipe makes enough to serve 4 very hungry people or 6 regularly hungry people.
ingredients:
-2 cups yellow split peas
-2 cups white or brown basmati or jasmine rice
-1 bell pepper
-2 carrots
-1.5 cups cauliflower
-1 small red onion
- 1/2 to one cup coconut milk
-1 cup raisins
-1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened, or not)
-2 tbls si racha rooster sauce
-some olive oil and/or earth balance
-3 tbls red curry
-1 tsp. tumeric
-a few pinches of cinnamon and/or nutmeg
-pinch of cumin
-pinch of salt
-cut cauliflower into bit size pieces, dice bell peppers, and chop carrots. Place cauliflower in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes. Once cauliflower starts to get a bit mushy add bell peppers and steam until both are sufficiently baby food status.
-boil the carrots over medium heat until they're somewhere between crunchy and mushy (about 10-15 minutes).
-While this is steaming start cooking the split peas and rice (especially if you're using brown rice). To cook the peas add 1 peas to a little less than 2 cups of boiling water. Bring water back to a boil then reduce to low/medium heat and cover. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes then start stirring every ten minutes until the peas have become a paste.
-Saute onion in 2 tbs of olive oil/earth balance until translucent. Once onions are almost done add curry, tumeric, cumin, salt, and cinnamon. Once this becomes very fragrant, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of coconut milk.
-Once the cauliflower and bell pepers are done place them in a blender and add the onion coconut milk mix and si raca sauce. Pulse until the mixture is completely pasty adding more coconut milk if it looks too dry. Make sure to lift the lid of the blender to let the steam out after every three pulses or so to avoid a crazy volcanic explosion of hot food. (This stuff does not come off of ceilings very easily, trust me.)
-Add this mix into the split pea mush and mix it up, again adding more coconut milk if it seems too dry.
-Taste dish and adjust spices accordingly.
-Mix in carrot pieces.
-Put raisins in a heat proof bowl and cover with boiling water for 5-10 minutes (this makes them plump and juicy). drain.
Serve dahl with rice and offer raisins, coconut, and extra si racha sauce for toppings. This is also really yummy to eat with na'an if you're not gluten free.
cilantro lime tofu and black bean tacos
This is one of the first meals I ever had as a vegan. Josh's mom made it for me before I really knew how to cook and it was wonderful to finally eat some good comfort food after days of raw veggies and soy milk. I've adapted the recipe a bit because she used to think that salt and pepper were the only real spices. This recipe is also in the Invisible Children cookbook that we made so long ago.
1 block of extra firm tofu drained and squeezed, no need to press it though
2 c. black beans drained
3 limes zested and juiced (is zested a real word?)
1 bunch of cilantro chopped
1/2 can of corn
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tbs tequilla
veggie oil
cumin
nutritional yeast (opt)
salsa verde
taco shells/ corn tortillas
-squish tofu into small clumps (it's fun to do with your hands but i suppose you could chop it if you really wanted to)
-Add lime juice, zest1/2 the cilantro,tequilla, 1 tbs oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, cumin, and about 1/4 cup salsa verde to the tofu and stir. Wrap this and let it marinate for at least an hour.
-heat skillet with a bit of oil, add tofu and fry until most, but not all, moisture is gone. Add black beans and corn about 5 minutes before removing from heat.
Serve with tomato, salsa, guacamole, and whatever else you put on your tacos.
*it's really good with mango salsa which can be easily by cheating and blending 3/4 red salsa (salsa authentica from trader joes works well) and 1/2 a mango
1 block of extra firm tofu drained and squeezed, no need to press it though
2 c. black beans drained
3 limes zested and juiced (is zested a real word?)
1 bunch of cilantro chopped
1/2 can of corn
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tbs tequilla
veggie oil
cumin
nutritional yeast (opt)
salsa verde
taco shells/ corn tortillas
-squish tofu into small clumps (it's fun to do with your hands but i suppose you could chop it if you really wanted to)
-Add lime juice, zest1/2 the cilantro,tequilla, 1 tbs oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, cumin, and about 1/4 cup salsa verde to the tofu and stir. Wrap this and let it marinate for at least an hour.
-heat skillet with a bit of oil, add tofu and fry until most, but not all, moisture is gone. Add black beans and corn about 5 minutes before removing from heat.
Serve with tomato, salsa, guacamole, and whatever else you put on your tacos.
*it's really good with mango salsa which can be easily by cheating and blending 3/4 red salsa (salsa authentica from trader joes works well) and 1/2 a mango
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