East Meets West Veg

Fall is in the air here in Detroit, and that has me thinking about warmer weather. If we can't bring ourselves to the tropics, we can at least bring a taste of the tropics to us.

Fruit Vendor in Maharashtra, India

Kelyache Shikran is a very fast, simple dish from the Indian state of Maharashtra, my husband's home state. It can be eaten for breakfast, dessert, or as a accompaniment to a spicy amti or curry.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, sliced or diced
1 tsp sugar, optional (if you are using sweetened milk, this may be unnecessary)
1/2 Cup nondairy milk
5 pods cardamom, smashed or a pinch of ground cardamom

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

2. Serve at room temperature or cool in the fridge before serving.

Easiest Weeknight Pasta Ever (this one is extra saucy because I felt like having a lot of sauce)

Florence, Italy

Florence, Italy

The food at this restaurant was simple and absolutely delicious! I still dream about that pasta. It's unlike any I've had in the US, even though you can find authentic Italian food in the US. Maybe it was just the whole experience that made it seem more magical to me. When we arrived, we actually talked to the owner and she knew what 'vegano' meant so we were in luck. We just trusted her to make us something delicious. Being a person obsessed with food, I think about this pasta often and I sometimes crave it but haven't been able to find an exact recipe for it. I kept asking my husband and mom if they remembered this pasta and I had to have a way of describing it. Since I don't remember the name of the restaurant where we had this, and, we had pasta at several restaurants in Florence (leaving out the name Florence Pasta), I sometimes refer to this as 'Locked in an Italian Bathroom Pasta." (Luckily, THAT only happened once)

Maybe my mom just needed a sign like this

Falling in Love with Italy

You could certainly eat this pasta alone for a quick, easy, tasty, lycopene-filled weeknight dinner, but if you have a couple more minutes you could pair it with a nice salad topped with cannelini beans, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil like we had throughout our trip to Italy. This could also be paired with an easy side dish like my Spicy Lemon Garlic Broccolette, my Super Easy Chickpea Salad, some vegan Italian sausage, or Chocolate Mousse Pie.

Ingredients:

Quinoa with Fresh Vegetables and Herbs

Tonight we had a very fast, simple and healthy dinner. It was one of those 'we need to clear out the fridge and we need to eat right away' type of dinners. Since quinoa cooks in only 15 minutes and goes well with all vegetables and herbs (what was filling my fridge), I knew this would be the perfect combination to meet our needs. If you are not familiar with this ancient superfood of the Incas, it is a versatile seed that is usually treated as a grain and can often replace rice or other more familiar grains in dishes. It's quick cooking time and excellent nutrition have made it very popular as of late.

A lot of vegetarians, especially new vegetarians, like quinoa because it is a complete protein and is packed with minerals and nutrients. It is a good source of protein, iron, fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium. It's also a source of vitamin E and calcium. Quinoa has a low Glycemic Index (GI) ranking. Of course, it's also cholesterol free as all plant foods are, and is low in fat, with no saturated fat or trans fat. I found some of this information by looking at the Self Nutrition Data for Quinoa. You can see the amino acid profile and amounts of each nutrient there.

This is not really a recipe, but describing it in a paragraph didn't feel right so I wrote out the steps I followed to give you an idea of a starting place. Again, this was just a very simple meal so you could really get creative here. I also listed the ingredients I used for a reference point.

Ingredients:
Vegetable bouillon or other vegan bouillon
Chicken curry masala (it's vegan)
Turmeric (1/4 tsp)
Quinoa
Cashews
Assorted vegetables (we had green bell pepper, chilies, carrots, radish greens, lima beans, green peas, potatoes)
Assorted herbs (we had fresh basil, parsley, dill and cilantro)

Method:
1. Dissolve vegan bouillon and spices in hot water.
2. Add half as much quinoa as water, chopped vegetables and herbs (you can save the herbs until the end when it's all cooked if you're not feeling too lazy and hands-off).
3. Boil quinoa, then simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Toast cashews and garnish finished dish with them.

Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous

Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous is one of those "accidentally vegan" products. It seems to be available in just about all of the grocery stores around here. I bought it because it says "cooks in 5 minutes" and that's about all the time I had. Not only does it cook in 5 minutes, but it is very easy to make.

To make it, you only need to combine the couscous and spice packet with boiling water and olive oil (not actually required), wait for 5 minutes, and it's ready to eat. The directions tell you to combine it in a saucepan on the stove, but this time I just boiled the water in my teakettle and poured it over everything because I needed a hot cup of tea anyway and I thought I'd save energy this way. It turns out delicious both ways. You can also cook this couscous in the microwave, which makes it great for cooking in a hotel room (if you have a bowl) or in a dorm room.

One of my favorite things about this product is that it doesn't have a lot of unnecessary packaging and it doesn't have any plastic bags! Lately I have become really aware of packaging and I've been trying to reduce my environmental impact. I do realize that going vegan is the biggest thing you can do to lessen your environmental impact, but there is still a lot I can do. Knowing that there is so much plastic in the ocean makes me sick and I find myself picturing those bird skeletons with undigested plastic pieces in their stomachs when I look at unrecyclable plastic.

My husband will eat couscous, but it's definitely not his favorite thing (which is really surprising to me because he could live on wheat alone). He said this was "really good" which means a lot coming from someone who likes his grains to be jazzed up with vegetables and Indian spices (unless they come in the form of bread.)

I do realize that couscous only takes 5 minutes to cook and you could add your own seasonings, but I thought I'd give this one a try and I am glad I did. You can't chop onion and garlic and roast the garlic in 5 minutes anyway. The Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous has the convenience most people want nowadays without a giant list of unrecognizable ingredients and a ton of unnecessary plastic bags.

This product makes a great side dish, snack, small meal, stuffing for a squash or vegetable. It's also good with some added ingredients like vegetables, legumes or nuts.  It is totally something I would pack for travel, especially travel to those not-so-vegan-friendly places in Middle America. You could even use the coffee maker to get boiling water if you are staying at a hotel room that didn't have a microwave.

I was originally going to make a nice, hearty stew today because we've had some chilly nights (and days), but then I checked the weather and saw that it was going to be 97 degrees F (36 C)!! In three short days the high temperature will be 60 F (15.5C) with a low of 46F (8 C). This is Michigan for you, I guess. Anyway, it was WAY too hot for me to cook or eat hot food today so I had to find a no cook dinner.

I decided to make some super easy burritos with salsa verde. I've never made anything with tomatillos before so I didn't even know if I'd like it, but I thought it tasted fresh and delicious. Alone, I thought it could use some more salt, but it was perfect with the chips.


This Salsa Verde recipe is from Food Network. It is very easy and requires only a few ingredients. There were two versions on the show, but I made the raw version. I just put these items in the blender, then mixed it with chopped onion and salt. Click here for the recipe.


To make the meal complete (though I really could have eaten just the salsa verde and tortilla chips), I put together some simple burritos.

Based on the popularity of my first Grocery Shopping 101 post, I decided I need to post some 101 type meal ideas. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming transitioning to a more plant-based diet or it might seem like you need to make long, complicated recipes. The truth is that you can eat very simple, healthy foods that take little or no prep time.

Not too long ago, we had a get-together with a mixed group of meat-eaters and non meat-eaters. We made a do-it-yourself wrap bar and everyone loaded up on what they liked. Here's my wrap.

I was in a local warehouse store and I happened to notice a giant bag of a new-to-me vegetable, Broccolette. It looked like broccoli, but I knew that it must be different somehow or else it would just be called broccoli. I took it home and decided to do a little research on this veggie so that maybe I could figure out what to do with it. I read that it has a slightly sweet, asparagus-like flavor, but I thought it couldn't be true. Nonetheless, I took my inspiration for making it from a favorite asparagus dish I used to get at a local grocery store deli. I have made this several times, but every time using a different amount of EVERYTHING based on how much we have left, the preferences of those eating it, etc. so I'm going to leave it to you to figure out your own measurements. You can't really go wrong here if you know what you like. (And by the way, it really does taste like asparagus!)


Ingredients:
Broccolette
Lemon Infused (or Flavored) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Crushed Red Pepper, to taste
Garlic, chopped (we use at least 4 large cloves, but we love garlic)
1 lemon
salt

Cooking Time:
Keep in mind that this whole process should take you maybe 10 minutes. Do not overcook.

Method:
1. Put a little bit of water at the bottom of a pot - maybe 1/2 inch, depending on how much you're cooking. (I use my stockpot because it's very tall, but not too wide at the bottom and you're essentially going to steam the brocolette, not boil it.) Put your washed brocolette into the pot, turn it on medium-high and put the lid on.
Note: Could you use a steamer? Absolutely, but that means more dishes and this is the quick and easy method so I don't.

2. Check the broccolette after a couple of minutes. You want it to be bright green and just tender crisp. Even if you're making a lot, it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes or so. Do not overcook.

3. Once it's bright green and tender crisp, drop it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process and keep it's beautiful color.

4. Rinse out your pot and return it back to the burner.

5. Turn the burner on medium heat and add enough olive oil to almost cover the bottom of the pot.

6. Add crushed red pepper flakes.

7. Add garlic. Saute for a couple of minutes.

8. Add broccolette and stir constantly for a couple of minutes. (You are just trying to infuse it with the flavors you have in the pot already and get the broccolette warm again. Do not overcook.)

9. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on, mix.

10. Add salt and serve.

Ingredients:
Rye bread
1 small onion, chopped
1 package tempeh
sauerkraut, to taste (I recommend Bubbies)
non-dairy thousand island dressing, to taste (I used OrganicVille brand)
non-dairy cheese to taste, optional (Daiya works well)
oil to saute
tamari, to taste
cayenne pepper, optional (for those spicy food lovers)


Method:
1. Slice the tempeh in half as shown


2. Now lay it flat and cut into triangles as shown below

4. Add the tempeh and drizzle the tamari over top trying to get all the pieces.
5. Continue to saute, flipping tempeh as needed until both sides are golden.
6. Layer the tempeh & onions, sauerkraut, cheese and thousand island on the bread.
Optional: For my husband, I sprinkle a little cayenne pepper on with the thousand island dressing.
7. Cook on the George Foreman (or other) grill for a couple of minutes until it's hot and has those nice grill lines on it.

Alternatively, you could put the sandwiches together and then fry them in the frying pan.