This rice dish was something I was able to throw together one night, using items I had on hand. Love it when that happens.
The tofu I used was a packaged, Thai marinated flavor. Feel free to use any flavor you like, or bake your own. I was on a mission to make this dish as quick as possible so I used the pre-baked kind. Nice and easy.
Also, in the spirit of ease and convenience, I used the frozen brown rice you can find at almost any grocery store these days, including Costco. I separately microwaved 2 bags, and spread the warmed rice out on a large plate in a thin layer to cool. This is important as the rice can get gooey and clumpy when added to the pan with the other ingredients if not cooled, and the grains somewhat separated.
Make sure to have, as they say in cooking school, your ‘mise en place’ ready (i.e. everything prepared and measured, ready to throw in the pan) as this dish is completed rather quickly. I served steamed Chinese broccoli alongside this dish. 🙂
If you’ve ever eaten a samosa at an Indian restaurant (or Whole Foods salad bar for that matter), you know those delectable little things are deep fried. These patties have that mouth-watering samosa flavor, without all the fat and flour.
This recipe is adapted from Rouxbe, the on-line plant-based culinary school I’m attending. The first time I made these I followed the recipe to the letter but felt they could be improved and made to be lower in fat. The family actually preferred my version. Score!
Keep in mind the heat of these will depend on how much of and the type of curry powder you use. I’m a total wimp when it comes to spice so I only used 1 TBS curry powder (half Penzey Sweet Curry Powder and half Madras Curry Powder). Use more, or some cayenne, if you like the heat. They have tons of flavor regardless. Enjoy!!
It’s been a long time since I posted a recipe! Not that I haven’t been creating in the kitchen – I’m always doing that. Just life. You know how it is. Anyway, I love tahini dressings but they are usually so high in fat. Tahini, or sesame seed paste, is high in fat of course because seeds are high in fat. Tahini, and other seeds and seed pates are very healthy but can easily be overeaten. However, there is a way to use tahini in dressing, still get that flavor, and cut the fat. The secret is in the BEANS. Yes, beans. They not only help cut the fat, they add creaminess, body, nutrients, fiber and protein.
I made this dressing with a salad in mind, but I ended up pouring some over my steamed kale and sweet potato, and it was tasty! You can use any kind of soft, white bean. I had made my own flageolet beans the day before because I like to have a batch on hand, but you can use cannellini, great northern, etc. If you use canned be sure to rinse and drain them. NOTE: I get a lot of my dried beans from Rancho Gordo. They sell the BEST heirloom beans! You can purchase from their website at ranchogordo.com.
If you’ve ever made my Mock Chicken Salad you’ll already have an idea of how this dish is made – it’s the same process. I set out to make the Mock Chicken Salad but I was feeling creative and wanted to change it up significantly. I absolutely LOVE what I ended up with. SO delicious. And, it’s really easy to make!! No cooking required for the filling. Though, if you would like it warm and/or find raw celery and onion too crunchy or strong, feel free to sauté those first. I made these for lunch on a fairly warm day but I think the warm/cooked filling would be nice on a chilly day or at dinner. It’s up to you! Experiment….I did!
Feel free to use this filling for a sandwich instead of lettuce wraps.
They are only a garnish, so a small amount is used, but the Tamari-Lime Sliced Almonds are AMAZING here.
Imagine being vegan and weighing nearly 500 lbs. Seems impossible doesn’t it? Most people associate vegan with healthy. For many that is the case, but the opposite is also true. Potato chips? Vegan. French fries? Vegan. Soda? Vegan. Vegetable oils? Vegan. See where I’m going with this? Vegan (the absence of animal foods) is only healthy when the diet is comprised of whole, low-fat, plant foods. Vegan junk food is how you get sick and in Del’s case, to 475 pounds! This is the meaning of the title of Del’s new cookbook, Better Than Vegan. Being vegan isn’t enough if you want to achieve optimal health and weight…you must be Better Than Vegan! Del has managed to drop nearly all of his extra weight but doing just that!
RECIPE REVIEW:
Del’s recipes are easy to follow and execute, and of course they’re delicious! To give you an idea of how tasty and easy his recipes are, I made the Smokey Black Bean Bisque (recipe below) and it was phenomenal! Truly. I’m not generally a non-chunky soup fan but the flavor of this soup was fantastic, and even though it’s not chunky, its still nice and thick. Del instructs you to toast and grind the cumin seeds and I’m sure this really contributed to the rich flavor – so don’t skimp and use bottled, ground cumin if you can help it. He also calls for fresh oregano which I didn’t have and couldn’t find at the store, so I used dried. If you do that remember to cut the amount in half. So, instead of 2 tsp fresh, you would use 1 tsp dry. I soaked and cooked my own black beans ahead of time, but canned would be fine – just remember to rinse them. I did not garnish with cilantro because I despise it and think it tastes like perfume. Bleh! For leftovers the next night I roasted delicata squash, filled it with wild rice and kale, and topped it with the bisque – YUM!
Chef Del’s Smokey Black Bean Bisque from “Better Than Vegan”
To be the lucky winner of this great book simply answer the question following the recipe to enter yourself in the drawing. One winner will be randomly chosen on Wednesday, 1/15/14.
Contest Question:How many vegan or vegetarian cookbooks do you own?
Spicy Butternut Squash Soup with Lemon-Maple Brussels Sprouts
Most butternut squash soups are a little sweet for me. Honestly, I’ve got a major sweet tooth but some things, like my soups, I want to be more on the savory side. So, this soup is still sweet of course, but the jalapeño and cooking sherry (or white wine) create some interesting flavors that help offset the sweetness. And, while I don’t generally cook with oil, I added a tiny drizzle of truffle oil before serving – YUM. Since I was a little heavy-handed with the jalapeño (by my definition – remember, I’m a spice wimp), I dumped my Lemon-Maple Brussels Sprouts in the soup to offset the heat. Delicious! In the future I will leave the seeds out of the jalapeño – this time I used half of the seeds and the soup was really spicy.
A few weeks ago Engine 2 (Rip Esselstyn’s baby) announced they would be conducting a recipe contest. The entries had to include at least one ingredient from the Engine 2 line of foods (available at Whole Foods – try them if you haven’t!), be plant-based (duh), oil-free, low-fat and low-sodium. I was familiar with the line of foods they offered and immediately got the idea for a recipe to enter into the contest. It was announced today that my recipe was chosen as the Grand Prize Winner!! http://engine2diet.com/the-daily-beet/ So fun and exciting!
The folks at E2 will be sharing this recipe with their readers, and I am sharing it now with you. It’s very easy, and delicious! Enjoy!
Fresh corn would have made this thick, chunky chowder even better but I was unable to find organic. Corn is one of those items I always buy organic due to the possibility of GMO’s. A very small portion of domestic sweet corn in the produce section is actually GMO, but since it’s not the law for it to be labeled (lame), it’s better to err on the side of caution. Most of the GMO corn is used in processed foods (aka JUNK) and animal feed – just another reason to stay away from that crap and eat WHOLE plant foods!
Anyway, I digress. This soup is delicious….and even better the next day. For more intense and “zesty” flavor, add more cumin and chili powder, and use medium or hot green chiles – I used mild. Jalapeños would be good here too, but as I’ve said before, I’m a spice wimp. I used 2 teaspoons of chili powder and found it to be a bit too spicy, though the fam disagreed (told ya…wimp). One of the two teaspoons was chipotle chili powder since I love that smoky flavor. In one of the pictures below you will see something green in the chowder. I stirred in some steamed kale and it was super yummy.
Update 9/26/13: I made this without the cashews (accidentally) and it was every bit as creamy and delicious. So, I’ve changed the ingredient above to OPTIONAL.
I needed something to eat for lunch and the red lentils in the pantry got my attention. I literally threw these ingredients together without a plan, and was SO happy with the result. It’s hard to believe something this easy could be so flavorful. It was so good in fact that I included the dish in an Indian themed feast I cooked this past weekend. It was a big hit along with the Indian Spiced Cabbage, Roasted Aloo (potatoes), brown basmati rice and whole wheat flat bread.
Red lentils are great because in addition to being extremely healthy and low-fat, they are quick-cooking. They can be used in sauces to add fiber and protein, or as the main ingredient along with a few others such as the recipe here. Unlike brown/green lentils they break down easily, blending in with whatever else is in the dish. They also end up being more yellow in color, even though they are called red and start out more of an orange color. At 140 calories per cup (dry), 0 grams of fat, 7 grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein, red lentils are a great addition to the diet.
In this dish I used two different types of curry powder, but you don’t have to. Regular curry is the yellow/orange version you see in most stores. Different brands can taste different from each other, with some more mild than others. Madras curry is another type that is similar to regular but with more spice. Berbere curry is an Ethiopian version, that has a smokier scent/flavor and is much spicier than the others. Feel free to use whatever variety you have on hand, or a combination like I’ve done here. The measurements I used result in a mild dish. As I’ve said before, I’m a spice wimp.
This is a recipe I’ve had on my website for a long time but I revamped it last night and it’s so much better now. I recommend topping with a squeeze of lime, a drizzle of Sour Un-Cream and Cornbread Muffins ((find in Recipes). Make sure to read the NOTES at the bottom of the recipe for important tips.
This rice dish was something I was able to throw together one night, using items I had on hand. Love it when that happens.
