Oatmeal Muffins

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Oatmeal MuffinsEach month, during shelter season, I take at least one meal to the Fortitude Community Outreach homeless shelter. Sometimes it’s for an evening meal, but most of the time lately it’s breakfast.

This week, one of the items on the breakfast menu was “muffins, banana bread, or similar.” Not being the baker in the family, I was a little insecure to sign up, but I figured I could always opt for store bought if necessary.

Luckily, I found this recipe for Oatmeal Muffins from John Kanell’s site and it looked simple enough for even a novice like myself.

I used Old Fashioned Oats, and they turned out great. Not only tasty, but also lovely to behold. Yay.

I made these according to the recipe, substituting oat milk for the dairy. At some point I’ll experiment with using applesauce or chia seed instead of egg to keep it 100% plant based.

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Aloo Tikki

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Aloo Tikki PlatedI had a few potatoes that needed to be used, so I made these Indian potato cakes for a quick brunch on Saturday Morning.

Using the recipe from Tiffin and Tea, I left out the corn starch and green chilies.

I peeled and cubed three potatoes and boiled until tender. After draining, I mashed them with the remaining ingredients.

  • Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  • 1 t Chilli Powder
  • 1/2 t Turmeric
  • 1 1/2 t Cumin Powder
  • 1 1/2 t Coriander Powder
  • 1 t Ginger Powder
  • 1/2 t Garam Masala
  • 1 T Coriander (I used Parsley)
  • 4 T Breadcrumbs
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 T Avocado Oil

These were easy to form into patties, and frying in the iron skillet didn’t take long. They were delicious. Three potatoes made a nice plate each for Claudia and I. We topped with a dollop of sour cream, but I would use cashew cream spread next time to keep it vegan. In India, they would likely top with yoghurt.

As a child, I always loved it when my mom would make potato pancakes from left over mashed potatoes. This was like that, but with the nice warm flavor profile of Indian spices.

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Chana Dosa

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Chana Dosa with Cheese and Veggie SautéFor Sunday Brunch this week I made my second run at dosas, which are sort of like crêpes, except made from plant protein sources instead of eggs. Chana Dosa is a delicious and nutritious version using chickpeas as the batter base.

We had these last summer at the ISKCON Temple in Naperville during their vegetarian food festival, and have been wanting to make them ever since.

I adapted a recipe from the Bhusanur Cooking YouTube channel.

  • 1 c raw chickpeas
  • 1/2 c uncooked rice (we used brown Basmati)
  • 1 t Fenugreek
  • 1/2 t Asofoetida
  • 3/4 t salt

Rinse the chickpeas and rice a few times, then soak for at least 8 hours.

Drain, and place in Vitamix with 1 c water and the other ingredients, and mix until batter consistency.

Let mixture rest and ferment in a bowl at least 8 hours. After this, add a few tablespoons of water at a time and mix by hand until it’s pancake batter consistency.

I added probably 6 T of water total, and think I could have used more.

The first time I made these, I used a crêpe pan to cook, and had issues with sticking and trouble getting the thickness correct, so I opted for a cast iron skillet this time. I got the best results on medium/high heat using olive oil spray.

Add a dollop of batter to the hot pan and use the back of the ladle to spread it thin in a circular motion. Cover the pan with a lid and set a timer for 1 minute. At that point, the dosa is nearly done, it just needs to be flipped for a few seconds to toast the other side a bit before adding the filling.

I used a sauté of onions, bell peppers and celery, with savory seasonings and just a bit of the Fenugreek and Asofoetida. We also added some freshly shredded Swiss Cheese. After spooning that on half of the dosa, fold the top over and let things get hot and gooey.

This recipe made six nice size dosas, and they were delicious and surprisingly filling. Definitely a keeper.

Thank you, India.

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Vegan Chorizo Hash with Tofu Scramble

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Tofu Scramble and HashWhenever I run across recipes from Weber Grills these days, my first thought is often “I don’t eat that.” When I am conscious, my second thought is “How can I adapt this to not use meat?”

This Chorizo and Potato Hash with Egg recipe is a perfect example. It’s the sort of thing that would have had me running to Jewel for Chorizo and firing up the Genesis back when I was carnivorous. So when it hit my inbox, I was intrigued, then momentarily disappointed. Then I realized that I already had a recipe for Chorizo made with plant-based meat that I’d been wanting to try. I’d also had good luck with Tofu Scramble in the past, and although it’s not quite the same as a gooey, runny egg yolk dripping over the potatoes, I figured it would stand in nicely.

So I filed the recipe away in my Evernote, hoping I’d remember to get around to it. On a recent trip to Aldi, they had Beyond Beef  bulk burger on sale, so we picked up a couple packages, and I finally remembered to put this meal together for Sunday Dinner this week. I opted for cooking indoors, just for the sake of efficiency, but I’ll definitely make this again on the cast iron plancha out on the Genesis this summer.

The Chorizo seasoning comes from America’s Test Kitchen’s Cooking With Plant Based Meat.

  • 4 t Ancho Chile Powder
  • 4 t Paprika
  • 2 t Ground Cumin
  • 1 t Ground Coriander
  • 2 t Dried Oregano
  • 2 t Sugar (I used Turbinado)
  • 1/2 t Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 t Cinnamon
  • Pinch Cayenne Pepper
  • Pinch Ground Allspice

This is supposed to be enough for 12 ounces of ground plant-based meat, but it did fine to season a full pound of the Beyond Burger.

I used two pounds of potatoes, cubing them with the skins on, and soaking them in a bowl of water with a little salt and white vinegar until I was ready to cook. Once they were in the pot and about starting to boil, I sautéed the Chorizo in my wok with a little olive oil. When it was done (five or six minutes) I removed it to a bowl, deglazed the wok with a splash of vinegar, and then sautéed a diced green bell pepper and yellow onion. Once those were done, I removed them, and added the drained par-cooked potatoes. I debated on using another type of oil, but at the temps I was cooking the olive oil was just fine. The potatoes were seasoned with cumin, paprika, Ancho Chile powder and black pepper. They cooked for about fifteen or twenty minutes, and then I added the onion and pepper back in to cook for awhile, and then finally added the Chorizo.

My tofu scramble turned out good, although I added a bit too much dry mustard. The recipe calls for prepared Dijon, so I should have cut back a bit using the powder. Once it was on top of the hash, with a little salsa and scallions, it was fine.

This was a hit even with the carnivores in the household, though Claudia did make actual scrambled eggs for herself and her mom. She brought out some soft corn tortillas and folks were putting the hash and scramble into those for seconds.

The hash turned out better than any I’ve ever made. It occurred to me that I could adapt this recipe for Corned Beef Hash using my Pastrami seasoning instead of the Chorizo spices. I might add a little Vegan Worcestershire next time.

I will definitely make the Chorizo again as well, and use it this summer when we cook Paella.

Vegan Chorizo Hash in the Wok

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Creamy Cashew Cheese Dip

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Cashew Cream Cheese BagelI purchased a Vitamix blender with some Amazon points and a gift certificate that I received from work, and have now tried several plant-based cheese recipes. So far, this one is my favorite.

It starts with 2 cups of raw cashews, soaked overnight in water.

After draining, the cashews go into the blender for about 45 seconds with these ingredients.

  • 1/2 C Cold Filtered Water
  • 1 Clove Garlic, Diced
  • 2 T Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 2 T Nutritional Yeast
  • 1 t Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 1/2 t Thyme
  • 1/2 t Salt
  • 1/4 t Ground Black Pepper

This is another recipe from Deli Devi. I’ve also tried their Vegan Mozzarella and their Veggie Nacho Sauce. All great recipes, and this is not a paid endorsement. 🙂

This Cashew recipe is good as a dip for crackers or chips, and also serves as a decent substitute for cream cheese on a toasted bagel.

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Vegan Mac ‘n’ Cheese

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Bowl of Vegan Mac 'n' CheeseI’ve been experimenting with nutritional yeast lately, and found this recipe from Deli Devi.

Cook 12 ounces of macaroni.

Steam:
2 C chopped carrots
1 C cauliflower florets
1 C potato cubes

Add to a blender with:
3 C of plant based milk (I used oat)
1 T olive oil
1 T maple syrup
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 C of nutritional yeast
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t smoked paprika
1/2 t ground turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste

Maybe add a little bit of the pasta water to the blender if you’d like.

Once the mixture is blended smooth, heat it in a sauce pan on medium for five minutes or so until it thickens, and then combine well with the cooked, drained pasta.

I added a little hot sauce and soy sauce for flavor and umami.

This turned out super tasty, ooey gooey, and is a lot healthier and more nutritious than a Kraft box.

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Plant-Based Albondigas Sandwiches

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Beyond Beef Albondigas SandwichesI love to cook outdoors. Before I quit eating meat, I was obsessed with learning to prepare new recipes on the Weber Kettle and Genesis grills.

I still get emails from Weber, and my first reaction when I received the one with this recipe for Grilled Albondigas with Charred Salsa was “this looks really interesting, too bad it has meat.” I sometimes still forget that there are decent plant-based ground beef alternatives available nowadays.

Meier’s happened to have Beyond Beef on sale for a little over $5 a pound, so we picked up two pounds and adapted the recipe. The meatballs turned out really well. I used a little olive oil in place of the egg. I did use sour cream for the crema, since we haven’t left off dairy yet, but I imagine that you could easily substitute a little nut or oat milk for that.

For the salsa, I used two cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes and seven or eight slices of pickled Jalapeños along with the onion and garlic in the recipe. It turned out great as well.

I’ll have to work on the queso. I followed the recipe pretty much as is, and it came out thick and globby. I really would like to find decent alternatives to dairy cheese, but haven’t experimented enough with the products available to find things that we like yet.

The family, including the carnivores, seemed to like this recipe a lot. Along with a nice green salad, it fed four of us for Sunday Dinner, and there were leftovers enough for one evening meal for Kid this week, and snacks as well.

If I make this again, I’ll probably try it with Impossible Burger, as I like the texture of that product a bit better. Otherwise, the recipe is “a keeper” and something that the entire family can enjoy together, regardless of whether they are meat-eaters or not.

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Quick Weeknight Curried Chickpeas

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Chickpea CurryClaudia makes an incredibly delicious curried chickpea dish with spinach and all sort of other goodies, so I was a little hesitant to even try this simple recipe, but it seemed like an easy weeknight meal, so I finally decided to give it a go.

I took a few liberties, but kept it simple.

I sautéed a chopped onion, some diced fresh ginger and a few minced cloves of garlic in some olive oil.

Then I squeezed in some tubed tomato paste, and added my standard curry spices, stirring everything together until it all was toasted and fragrant.

  • 2 t Garam Masala
  • 2 t Curry Powder
  • 1 t Mustard Seed
  • 1 t Coriander
  • 1/2 t Chili Powder
  • 1/2 t Paprika
  • 1/2 t Turmeric
  • Some Red Pepper Flakes

Finally, in went two cans of diced tomatoes, two cans of chickpeas (drained), and a can of coconut milk. Then it was just a matter of letting it combine and heat up well while making the rice to go under it.

From start to finish, this took a little more than half an hour to prepare. It fed three of us, and there was plenty left over.

It certainly didn’t measure up to Claudia’s recipe, but it wasn’t half bad.

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French Press Cold Brew

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French Press and Coffee BeansWhen I first heard mention of cold brewed coffee, I was disdainful. It just sounded like another insipid trend to me at the time.

Then one day were at a Stan’s on a warm Chicago afternoon, and there was nothing on the drink menu that appealed to me, so I tried an iced black cold brew. The first sip knocked my taste buds on their butts. It was sweet, and refreshing and had a depth of flavor for which I was completely unprepared.

I remember saying “wow” or something equally banal, gushing about it being “really delicious” and insisting that Mrs. Noe try a sip. She was not particularly inclined to do so, but humored me, and was also taken aback.

After some research online, and consulting Annie, our coffee expert cousin, we decided to brew some at home. After a couple of delicious (but time consuming) attempts that required straining, I turned to my trusty French Press, and that’s the way we’ve brewed it ever since.

The tricks to a successful batch of cold brew are grind, proportion, water quality and timing. We use a Hario hand crank grinder set for a course grind. The proportions are 1/4 cup of beans to one cup of cold filtered water, which sits in the press overnight on our kitchen counter. It needs to go at least twelve hours, but not more than sixteen. I usually stir it a time or two along the way, but not immediately prior to pressing and decanting.

That’s pretty much it. The hardest part other than the hand grinding is waiting for the first batch to finish. After that, we try to keep a couple of three cup batches in glass jars in the fridge, and get another batch started when one is close to empty.

To serve, we like it over cracked ice, diluted a bit with water or milk (my favorite is oat milk). You could certainly add flavorings or sweetness of some sort, but it’s really so surprisingly sweet on it’s own that we don’t find that necessary.

So, I’ve learned my lesson about judging a book too hastily by it’s trendy Bougie cover.

Cheers!

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Cassoulesque for Sunday Dinner

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Cassoulesque Ready for the Oven

I used Field Roast Italian Sausage in this one, and Great Northern beans. I also started with Olive Oil and added some Wright’s smoke seasoning instead of using lardons or bacon. Otherwise, I pretty much followed the same process as I did when making faux Cassoulet before.

The photo above is how it looked before going into the oven.

I can’t claim that this version was vegan, since I did top it with chicken thighs for the carnivores, and some of the fat from that would have made its way into the beans. Plus, I added the Knox gelatin, which is not plant based.

Tasty, and I’m honestly not sure that it needed the Field Roast. The beans might be hearty enough on their own.

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