Lentil soup with kale, and baked vegan potato latkes

I should probably have put latkes first in the subject line, since that’s where this evening began. Or technically speaking, Friday evening. Or maybe it began with the Silknog, the terrible weather, the crappy day, in no particular order. Today (Saturday) we had some of the leftover soup (it makes a ton!) and another batch of latkes. Latkes, latkes, latkes.

Vegan latkes

1 onion, grated

1.5 pounds potatoes, grated (I used Yukon Gold)

2 heaping TBL matzah meal

2 Ener-g egg replacers

Generous amounts of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly oil a baking sheet with olive oil. Grate potatoes and onions. Let them sit for a few minutes, and then squeeze out all the extra liquid (into the sink or another bowl, whatever.) Stir in matzah meal, egg replacer, and seasoning. Mix with your hands until well combined. Pour off any remaining extra liquid (hopefully the matzah meal took care of this problem for you.) Form into tight patties and place on the prepared baking sheet. Rub the latkes in the oil a little, then flip over. Bake 15-20 minutes on that side, then flip over and bake another 10-15. The latkes should be nice and brown on both sides. Serve with Tofutti sour cream!

Lentil soup with kale

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1/2 tsp cloves

1 1/2 tsp cumin

2 jalapenos, diced

1 28 oz. can tomatoes (chop them before adding)

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

5-6 cups bouillon

1 1/2 cups red lentils

1 bunch of kale, chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat olive oil and sauté celery, onion, and carrots, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalapenos, and ginger, cook another 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and spices, then lentils and bouillon. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 30 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Blend with an immersion blender (or a regular blender). Cook another 5 minutes, and serve.

Prize winning vegan ginger chocolate cookies

Yes, I really won a prize at my work cookie bake-off! I’ve never really won anything, so this was exciting in itself, AND the prize was a beautiful handmade glazed mixing bowl and a little whisk. I’ll post photos of that later. I highly recommend these cookies, which are adapted from Martha Stewart by way of Stephanie’s Kitchen. I veganized the recipe (sorry, cow butter lovers) and added lots of crystallized ginger. My version is below.

adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies Cookbook

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 cup vegan margarine

¼ cup crystallized ginger, chopped finely

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water

½ vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup sugar

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cocoa. In a large bowl, beat margarine and half of the crystallized ginger on medium speed until lightened, about minutes.  Add brown sugar, beat until combined.  Add molasses; beat until combined.

3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in boiling water.  Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture.  Beat in baking soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture.  Mix in chocolate chips and remaining crystallized ginger; turn onto plastic wrap.  Pat out to a 1 inch thickness; seal with wrap.  Refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.  Chill 20 minutes.  Roll in granulated sugar.  Bake until surfaces just begin to crack, 10-12 minutes, rotating halfway through.  Let cool 5 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Best, easiest tomato soup (ever), and mushroom kale pizza

From Ezra Pound Cake, this delicious, creamy, amazing tomato soup.

2 TBL olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp hot red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

2 (28-ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes in juice

1 tsp turbinado sugar

3 large slices good-quality white sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces [**we used a hunk of frozen leftover baguette and a some pizza dough that I accidentally ruined and then stored in the freezer. In other words, use any bread you have in the freezer that approximates 3 slices.)

2 cups vegetable bouillon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp basil (Or if it’s in season, chopped fresh basil)

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large pot over medium-high heat.Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using a potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain.Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and discard. With an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth. (Or use a blender and blend in batches.) Add in additional olive oil, bouillon, and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook 5-10 minutes before serving with a delicious homemade pizza!

Pinto bean cutlets, mushroom gravy, kale chips, and mashed potatoes

This was a pretty elaborate meal altogether, and completely worth the effort! On Friday night we made pinto bean cutlets, based on the Veganomicon chickpea cutlets, mushroom gravy, kale chips, and sinfully delicious mashed potatoes.

Mushroom Gravy

1 package white mushrooms, sliced thinly

1 TBL vegan margarine

1 TBL light tamari

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1.5 cups water (or enough to cover mushrooms)

Extra tamari

Cayenne

1-2 TBL cornstarch, with enough water to make a thick, yet runny paste (3-4 TBL water)

In a pot, saute mushrooms in a small amount of Earth balance (or other vegan margarine) until they release their juices, about 5-7 minutes. Add tamari and garlic. Cook another 5 minutes or so. Add water to cover (approximately 1.5 cups), bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste the liquid, if too watery add 1-2 teaspoons of tamari, add cayenne. Taste for seasoning. When the sauce tastes good, add in about half of the cornstarch mixture and stir continuously. It will thicken rapidly. If you like a thicker gravy, add more cornstarch. Continue to stir until it’s your desired thickness. Then turn down the heat, and stir occasionally until you are ready to serve it.

Kale Chips

There are lots of great recipes for kale chips on the internet. We chopped up the kale, tossed it with about 1 TBL olive oil, salt, cayenne, and garlic powder. Then baked it at 325 for 10 minutes. Easy-peasy.

Pinto Bean Cutlets

(This recipe makes only four, so we doubled the recipe below, and froze the leftover cutlets.)

1 cup canned pinto beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

1/2 cup matzah meal

1/4 cup pinto bean liquid

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

Preheat oven to 400.

In a mixing bowl, use an immersion blender to mix the pintos together with the oil until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and knead for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed. (We let the dough sit for 10-15 minutes and this helped with the next stage.)

After the dough rests, divide the cutlet dough into four equal pieces. To form the cutlets, knead each piece in your hand for a few moments and then flatten and stretch each one into a roughly 6 x 4-inch rectangular cutlet shape. The easiest way to do this is to first form a rectangular shape in your hands and then place the cutlets on a clean surface to flatten and stretch them.

Add a moderate thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. Add more oil, if needed, when you flip the cutlets. They’re ready when lightly browned and firm to the touch.

Brush both sides of each patty with olive oil, place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Flip patties over and bake another 10-15 minutes until firm and brown on both sides.

Mashed Potatoes

We didn’t really measure anything, as per the norm, but these mashed potatoes were perfect. Chop 7-8 small yukon gold potatoes and boil until soft (leave the skins on). While the potatoes cook, grate 1/2-3/4 cup almond (or other non-dairy cheese) into a mixing bowl. Add 3-4 TBL of Earth Balance, approximately 1/3 cup rice milk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the cheese. Set aside. After the potatoes are done, drain in a colander and mash with cheese mixture. Top with mushroom gravy……….Enough said.

Kidney beans with rice, and collards

Sweet potato, collards and chickpea stew

Lately, we’ve been on a collards kick. And a kale kick. Basically any kind of dark leafy greens. Since it’s actually cold here this year–too cold for salad– we’ve been making a lot of stews with our greens. This stew was simple to prepare, fragrant, tasted delicious the night of and as leftovers (the next day and the next day), and makes a ton! We basically followed the recipe at allcreatures.org. I’ve posted the recipe below as we made it.

1 onion, chopped

4  garlic cloves, minced

1 bunch (fresh) collard greens, chopped

2 sweet potatoes, cubed

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1 – 15-oz. can chickpeas, with liquid

1 – 14-oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped into pieces

1 TBL cumin

1 TBL paprika

1 TBL turmeric

I pinch of cinnamon (I’d say no more than 1/4 tsp.)

1 tsp. cayenne

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the onions, garlic, and bell pepper until the onions are translucent about 7 minutes. Add carrots and sweet potatoes, cook another 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and chickpeas (with liquid) and bring to a boil. (***Add more water or vegetable stock if needed. The vegetables should be mostly covered by water to allow the sweet potatoes to cook properly.***) Add spices and walnuts, reduce to medium. Cook covered about 20 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice.

Coconut milk, bean and vegetable stew

This week, we’re blogging out of order. I’ve been craving our local Ethiopian restaurant all week, so had been on the look out for interesting recipes from all parts of Africa. When I saw this recipe for Maharagwe, a Kenyan style stew with coconut milk and turmeric,  I had to try it immediately.

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can white beans, rinsed and drained

2 medium white or yellow onions, chopped

2 cups kale, chopped

1 TBL olive oil

1 green pepper, chopped

5 habanero peppers, minced

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 can of light coconut milk

2 tsp turmeric

3-4 cardamom pods, slightly crushed

4 cloves of garlic, minced

salt and black pepper, to taste

In a pot, fry the onions in olive oil until lightly browned. Add garlic, green pepper, and habanero pepper, fry for another few minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (EXCEPT KALE), to the pot and simmer until everything is tender and the flavors have come together. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt accordingly. Stir in kale and cook about 2-3 minutes, until kale is slightly wilted. Serve with rice.

Vegan cranberry sauce muffins

This year, I decided to make homemade cranberry sauce because a) it sounds fun and easy and b) I assumed that my brother’s girlfriend’s family did that as part of their tradition, and I wanted her to feel at home. Turns out her family prefers the canned kind, but it was worth it to make the cranberry sauce. I love the texture of the whole cranberries and being able to control the amount of sweetness. Most of the recipes I looked at, used 1 cup of sugar for one 12 oz. package of cranberries. On my first attempt, I used 2/3 of a cup of sugar and this was WAY too sweet. My mother kindly went to the store and bought me another bag of cranberries, and this time I used only 1/3 cup of sugar + 1 TBL. Then I mixed in a little of the too sweet stuff, and voila, cranberry sauce. This also meant there was a lot of leftover sauce, which is fine with me, as I already planned to make these muffins.

Veganized Cranberry Sauce Muffins (original recipe Erin Zimmer at Serious Eats)

- makes about 12 muffins -

Ingredients

1.5 cups flour
1 cup steel-cut oats
1/6 cup turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups of leftover cranberry sauce
1/2 cup rice milk
2 TBL olive oil
1 Ener-g egg replacer

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Line muffin tin with paper baking cups.

2. In a large bowl, combine regular flour, whole-grain flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder,  baking soda and salt; mix well. In medium bowl, combine milk, oil, cranberry sauce and egg replacer; blend well. Fold into dry ingredients all at once; stir until dry ingredients are moistened.

3. Fill muffin cups about three-quarters full.

4. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Break off that seductive muffin top, then inhale the rest!

Coming soon, vegan cranberry swirl cookies!

Black bean sliders, Thanksgiving edition

We’re back to blogging! Over Thanksgiving, my sister B wanted to learn how to make black bean burgers, so I brought down my beloved La Machine II, aka the food processor from 1970, and we baked a triple batch of delicious little bean burgers. B was a great sous chef and we had a lot of fun getting our hands dirty.

We followed the basic black bean burger recipe, except we subbed leftover marinara sauce for the ketchup. Also, my mother had cooking spray, which made baking the burgers even easier. I don’t typically use cooking spray for anything, but I might buy some for things like burgers. We then wrapped them in wax paper and B took them with her on the plane.

Vegan chocolate oatmeal cookies with peanut butter frosting

It sounds decadent, but these little cookies are healthy and filling.

Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

1.25 cups steel cut oats

4 TBL cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 TBL olive oil

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup  sugar

1 Ener-g egg replacer (or egg substitute of your choice)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or margarine, etc. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add in wet ingredients. Mix well, adding an extra tablespoon of water if needed. Place teaspoon sized balls of dough on the cookie sheet, bake 10 minutes. Cool and remove from pan. (Makes 24)

Peanut butter frosting

4 TBL peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 TBL soy creamer

1 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, whisk to combine. Top cookies with about 1/2 tsp of frosting per cookie.