vegan recipes: a list thread

oh, i have a recipe on is that... pie? for a really simple eggplant/chickpea/tomato stew that could be easily made more chili-like:
1 large (about 1.25lbs) eggplant, cubed

1 large onion, chopped

garlic to taste, chopped

1tsp each cinnamon and cayenne pepper

2tsp garam masala

1 can (or equivalent) chickpeas

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

1.5 cups veg. broth

maybe use cumin instead of garam masala, add some fresh peppers (mixture of sweet and hot), some oregano, black or pinto beans instead of chickpeas...

awesome, was just reading "is that... pie?" and noticed that recipe! : )

I'll try dig out the vegan vengeance book, see what other weird and wonderfuls she uses : )

here's the chili I made: So what have you cooked lately? (Year three!)

There's no real subs for the chipotles in adobo - I buy them canned, maybe you can find? Epazote is a minty, oregano-like herb: could just increase the oregano and add a pinch of dried mint. Masa is the lime-treated cornmeal used to make tortillas. If you can't find, I'd throw in strips of corn tortilla or even tortilla chips.

beetroot w/green sauce

take fresh beetroot and boil it

meanwhile in a bowl add chopped garlic, onion, capers, dijon, parsley, mint and mix, stir in olive oil to combine

when beetroot prepared cut into healthy chunks and dress with the mixture in the bowl

mmmmmm

non-vegans can add chopped anchovies to the dressing for some more funk!!

The tassajara cookbook is full of awesome vegan recipes especially soups, particularly the curried zucchini and corn and tomatillo.

oh and awesome, thanks jaq!!! I am totally making that or a variation on it tonight

I shall dig out the recipes and post later.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/03/post_26.php

made this last night. very tasty, and VERY cheap (esp. if you already have a big bag of red lentils).

looking forward to trying this recipe. i think you could get rid of the yogurt, or perhaps use some coconut milk instead. also, i think you could play around with the spices a bit to get around using cardomom pods and coriander seeds.

Sweet Potato and Tempeh Stew
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
6 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
3 cups water or vegetable broth
8 ounces tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup plain yogurt, divided
Salt and pepper to taste
Toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan. Sauté onion and garlic until onion is translucent.

Add ginger, cardamom pods, coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and sauté for another minute.

Add sweet potatoes and water or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add tempeh and simmer for about 10 more minutes, until tempeh is cooked through and potatoes are tender.

Remove from heat, season to taste, and stir in 1/2 cup yogurt. Serve garnished with the remaining yogurt and pumpkin seeds.

Breakfast Couscous (appealing to both vegans and non-vegans alike!)
feeds 4, or 3 or even 2 if you're reaaaally hungry; can easily be halved, just do the math
use 3/4 cup of liquids if you like drier couscous; 1 cup if you like moister couscous. I prefer drier.

3/4 or 1 cup orange juice
3/4 or 1 cup vanilla rice or soy milk
lots of cinnamon, to taste
1 cup french style couscous
lots of dried fruit (raisins, craisins, etc.)

Bring liquids and cinnamon to a boil. Stir in dried fruit and couscous, and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve.

It's so tasty and so easy!

do you think a chocolate version of this could work? still using oj, but maybe choc soy milk and a little cocoa powder? or is that totally wrong?

Injudra

1/2 pound dry brown lentils
1 cup long grain rice
3 - 4 large onions
1/2 cup olive oil
salt, pepper and cumin to taste (i use a lot of cumin)
if you want more vegetables add some cabbage or carrots or have something on the side.

good for casseroles w/noodles or rice and peas or whatever

mock bechamel sauce

1 onion chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup water/veg stock
soy sauce/sea salt

saute onions on medium heat...add garlic...add flour while stirring and cook 3-5 minutes...add water/stock+salt soy sauce and keep cooking and stirring

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/03/post_26.php

made this last night. very tasty, and VERY cheap (esp. if you already have a big bag of red lentils).

― lauren, Saturday, October 4, 2008 12:31 AM (2 weeks ago)

lauren, i was going to post this link, i make this often, it is very very good. i sometimes use persian red lentils for it, they take longer but they are delicious.
i love all lentils, they are one of my main foods.

the injudra looks great, artdamages, do you slow cook the onions first to sweeten them?

yeah i didnt give instructions for that recipe. i cook the rice and lentils seperately (ive experimented w/cooking them in the same pot, but it doesn't ever work out) and cook up the onions by themselves on medium heat adding the garlic and cumin later then mixing that into the lentils when they are done.

i dont like crunchy onions so i tend to cook them to death and use huge amounts of them to make up for it

i'm going to make that.

yay for lentils!

is injudra another name for mujadarah? it seems like the same thing. so tasty, esp. if you used caramelized onions. i'm really into caramelized onions lately.

looks like it is the same.

xpost to rubyredd:

OMG that sounds to DIE; I'm going to try it next time I have choc soymilk!! OJ + choc is heaven.

or orange + choc, i mean.

So peeps, my two "OMG CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT" foods before going vegan were mac n cheese (R.I.P.) and steamed pork dumplings. The former is all but hopeless in recreating accurately, but the latter I think I could get down pretty damn close with seitan and proper herbs and spices. Anyone ever tried this?

p.s. real dumplings, NOT that cabbage-filler bullshit. cabbage sucks.

i really hate the texture of seitan, so i never tried cooking with it when i was vegan. with that in mind, i'd try using finely-crumbled tempeh mixed with herbs and a tiny bit of a cornstarch/soy mixture. sadly, though, nothing tastes like pork.

Cabbage rocks!

U guise i need some tofu recipes that will bring the house down. All the ones I've made so far range from "eh" to "pretty good the first few bites" but I need something mind-blowingly delicious.

i just came across this recipe the other day:

http://www.monsoonspice.com/2008/08/sweet-chilli-lime-tofu-with-wok-steamed.html

it sounds delicious.

yay for this thread!

i just purchased How to Cook Everything Veg AND the Veganomicon recently, but haven't had a chance to put them to work yet. But Bittman's great, in my experience.

You absolutely HAVE to try the Penne Vodka in Veganomicon--it's the best thing I've made vegan. The Black Beans in Chipotle Adobo sauce was killer too, the black beans were absolute perfection but the chipotle sauce was a bit too sweet and oniony for my tastes.

made the sweet chili lime tofu! it's awesome.

tell me about quinoa? I have never heard of it. does anyone know how hard it is to find in the UK? would something else do for that recipe? cook's thesaurus has suggestions: http://www.foodsubs.com/Grainoth.html

I am quite fond of quinoa and can get it here in the US in both white and red varieties at Whole Foods and health food stores. I mostly use it as an alternative to rice/couscous/other grainy type thing as a side dish for meat/fish/chicky. But for a light vegan dish you could toss it with any sort of cooked veg with some sort of dressing (a lemony vinaigrette is good), maybe chuck in some toasted almonds or other nuts, maybe some raisins or currents or dried cranberries if you are into that sort of thing. Basically you can treat it exactly the way you would couscous, although the cooking bit is different.

quinoa's easy enough to get in the uk: it'll probably be in your supermarket, albeit perhaps in some kind of confusing ethnic food/vegan diet/special items aisle. that said, i never saw the red variety. learning about bulgar and quinoa really expanded my grain-based-meal horizons.

Quinoa's great for breakfast too - a nice crunchy change from oatmeal, etc.

Thanks guys. Like I say, I had never heard of it until I read the tofu lime chilli recipe, but it turns out they sell it in Tesco.

I just started using it a week or so ago - apparently there are brands that are pre-washed and others you need to rinse before using. Some kind of bitter stuff (natural protective coating?) has to be washed away.

for real, for breakfast? just quinoa with milk on?

Nope, with a little butter and brown sugar or jam, like I do with Malt-o-meal.

which, ya know, isn't vegan. Do vegans use margarine instead of butter?

i get vegan margarine. i can't remember what it's called; whole ... garden or something. i am not vegan but have vegan aspirations, though.

Margarine isn't vegan? I thought it was just vegetable oil and water whipped up smooth.

earth balance is a good butter substitute, i think

would something else do for that recipe?

oh, definitely! in fact, since we were out of quinoa i used basmati rice. it's less about the type of grain and more about the spices you cook it with, i think. and, speaking of spices, i didn't have cardomom pods so i used dried whole star anise. not the same flavor, but it worked very well.

"Tempeh" has started looking like internet-speak to me..

OMG EARTH BALANCE IS MY LIFE. It's got such a rich buttery taste. They've also got the Soy Garden variety, which is still tasty but less OMG BUTTER, which I like to use in some things instead of the original buttery spread.

Also I don't think I've posted it here yet: Google Books has a "preview" of Veganomicon that seems to half the entire book, if not more:

http://books.google.com/books?id=tjN8uJETBpIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=veganomicon

I had a "melted chocolate and pumpkin spice" sheet-cake on Friday that was vegan and OMG delicious, and I do NOT make a beeline for the vegan goods in general. Wow my mouth. I think it's still tingling a little.

The only downside, vegan-wise, was that the richness made me want a glass of milk on the side.

veganomicon looks pretty great. there are some kind of lasagne noodles involved in the lasagne - is there a vegan substitute?

i think i need pictures in recipe books to get me excited enough to cook. i might try kosheri (rice + lentils + onions + stuff) tonight; at the moment i just want to eat things i can scoop with a spoon.

hey, vegan/veg people (and anyone else who enjoys tofu) - you know about the freezing thing, right? if you freeze your block of tofu (firm/xtra firm), then thaw and squeeze out before cooking, it gets really "meaty" and super-absorbent.

holy cow @ tahini cardamom babka! thanks for link.

xp

Her writing is a bit of a shame, enough typos that it takes a little bit of kitchen experience to be able to decipher.

I made the tahini cardamom babka -- it did not turn out well, though I fully acknowledge that my abilities could've sunk the final product.

i tried it too! and underwhelmed. There was not nearly enough filling. The dough was just not right (i did use 1/3 spelt flour) even though i added one (1) egg to enrich it a bit. I have an old tried and true babka recipe i may go back to and make with choc/cardamom/tahini, but is no vegan. I like the matcha/pistachio idea though and have not given up with babka experiments, but something with the recipe was lacking or something

This turned out reasonably well! https://rainbowplantlife.com/fluffy-vegan-gingerbread-cake/

Although I messed a couple things up: it has a strip of uncooked batter that runs under the center line just an inch or so under the surface, I think I remember GBBO saying that trapped air was

I also tried to make up my own frosting without the vegan butter (i.e. solid fats) using olive oil and arrowroot powder -- and in the end, too much of each.

hah to finish that thought: a trapped air bubble keeps the surrounding batter from cooking.

I think I've settled on a decent, easy, and idiot proof fauxgurt recipe.

9 ounces firm tofu
1 cup cashews
1 tablespoon chia seeds

The only prep is to optionally soak the cashews overnight (but I rarely remember to do that), and to make the chia egg. Then, dump everything into a food processor.

Why firm instead of soft tofu? Do you prefer the texture?

Yeah, I wanted something creamier, but I've seen other recipes say that silken tofu works too.

Do you add anything to simulate the tang of yoghurt?

No because I really only use yogurt as a medium to put fruit in, so the sourness isn't something I prioritize.

I'm mostly on board with vegan cooking/baking, but one thing that I'm yet to be convinced of is nutritional yeast. My favorite vegan food blogger calls it "vegan golden flakes" or some such, especially as a way to simulate the savoriness of e.g. cheese, but what I've used it in hasn't elevated my recipes that much. Maybe different brands are better? (I have a bag of Bob's Red Mill.)

I've only really used it to make "vegan white cheddar popcorn". It did have a note of 'artificial cheese flavoring' but it was just one element in a pot pourri of gross.

Sticking to salt and grapeseed oil from now on. Thanks for the reminder to throw that canister of fish food in the garbage.

nutritional yeast alone is not the wave rly, but add it to cashew cream to make a cheesy sauce

It’s def overrated but it does provide some umami that otherwise be lacking in vegan food

i like to use it a few different ways. processing cashews with nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder makes a really good faux parm imho.
Salads tossed with a vinaigrette do nicely with ny added
Thrown into a vegan alfredo sauce in lieu of parm
Have made polenta and replaced parm with the stuff and that worked quite well, too, imho

A family friend who went vegan last year calls it "nooch."

that is the name

TFW you decide you can't make a chickpea dish because your ice cube tray for aquafaba is full.

haha this is a v particular issue to have

For the past couple weeks, I've been experimenting with vegan brownies (well, brownies and brownie cookies) with the added challenge of avoiding coconut oil, and I think that I've figured out a way to use regular vegetable oil without the brownies coming up super dense: add some cornstarch. I'm not quite sure about the proportions as I eyeballed the amount I put in but it was something like 1-3 Tbsp for what ended up being 4-5 Tbsp of oil and 1 cup of flour.

have you ever tried black beans?

or another mild tasting bean like adzuki might work too

Black bean brownies were some of my earliest baking experiments! I guess I should revisit them.

I've hit upon a perhaps even easier fauxgurt recipe: blend one ripe avocado in a food processor, then add one block of silken tofu (along with taste
enhancers .ije juice from a lemon, 1 tbsp apple Cider Vinegar, 0.25 tsp salt), blend till smooth.

I could never quite get the cashews as smooth.

This shakshuka was fabulous when I made it a few weeks ago and I was looking forward to making it again last night, but I was out of tomato paste and when I went to my supermarket they didn't have any in a tube. :(

I've made this about 3 times and it's pretty idiot-proof: https://www.pickuplimes.com/recipe/vegan-gado-gado-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-186

looks good as hell

Yeah I love it! Some of the substitutions I make: broccoli (make sure to peel them) instead of green beans, tahini instead of peanut butter, and srirachi because I don't have sambal oelek. Perfect blend of savory with a touch of sweet.