Monday, August 30, 2010

Indian Potato Salad

This recipe came from VeganDad's blog:
http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2010/08/indian-potato-salad.html

It was so delicious I can't begin to describe it! It was quick and easy. Just some chopping and sauteing and mixing and it's done.

Taken directly from VeganDad's blog:

NGREDIENTS
- 1 lb white potatoes, peeled and halved
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and halved
- 2 tbsp oil
- 15 pearl onion, peeled and halved
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 1/2 green chile, seeded and minced (I used jalapeno, the only thing around)
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp tumeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 cup vegan mayo (or use half yogurt)
- soy milk as needed
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- salt pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Get some salted water boiling and cook the potatoes. Since sweet potatoes cook faster than white, ad then in about 10 mins before the white potatoes are done cooking (they take 20-25 mins, usually).
2. While potatoes are cooking, heat oil over med-hi in a large frying pan. Add onions and saute for a few mins, letting the outsides get nice and brown. Keep stirring so they don't burn. Add garlic, ginger, and chile and mix well. Add mustard seeds and cook a few mins more (seeds should begin to pop). Add spices and mix well. Remove from heat.
3. Drain cooked potatoes and let cool until warm but not hot. Cut into cubes. Mix mayo into the onion mixture, then toss with the potatoes. Thin as needed with soy milk so potatoes are coated. Mix in cilantro, and season to taste.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Joy of Snacking: "Cheezy" Chickpeas

This is for when you're hungry but don't have much time or just don't want to bother with cooking something. For even more awesomeness, use a brand of nutritional yeast that's been fortified with B12.

"Cheezy" Chickpeas
Ingredients:
1 Cup cooked chickpeas (or 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons nutritional yeast flakes

Preparation:
Put the chickpeas in a bowl, add the salt and nutritional yeast, and stir around until all the chickpeas are coated. That's it!


"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid."

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Vegan Road Trip


Sorry for the delay between posts. My husband and I just moved from Florida to Winnipeg, Manitoba and it has taken a while for us to get settled in. In fact, we are still staying in the guest bedroom of our landlord's house, waiting for new floors to be installed in our place.

We haven't been able to cook--which is killing us--so we have been struggling to come up with ideas for a post. Then it hit me: The Vegan Road Trip. We spent three days in the car, and we knew ahead of time that good vegan choices would be few and far between as we trekked across America, so we decided to pack as many tasty vegan road trip food items as possible.

We set out with a few bags, a cooler, and a bag of ice. We just used hotel ice machines to refill the cooler each morning.

Breakfast:

Clif bars - You choose the flavor, these things are like vegan rocket fuel, packing about 250 calories into a convenient little wrapper--great for driving!

Fruit - Enough said! We had peaches and bananas.

Lunch:


Sandwiches - My husband enjoyed his PB & J, with unsalted fresh ground peanut butter and jam without high fructose corn syrup. For a variety, and because I hate PB & J, we also packed tofurkey slices with lettuce, tomato, vegenaise, and mustard.

Spinach Pies - You could prepare these yourself. We bought them from a fantastic local restaurant. A word of warning, these can be addicting, don't buy them too long before your trip. You may finish them all before you even hit the road. We almost did. :)

Tamek brand canned stuffed cabbage leaves - These were actually a gift from a loving, Lebanese grandmother but having tried both types, I recommend the stuffed grape leaves rather than the cabbage.

Snacks:

Dried fruit - Our close friend Pete, who works at a health food store, decided to surprise us with an 11 lb. bag of dried mangoes, which we happily munched for about two weeks.

Mixed nuts - Great source of protein and fat, which vegans can always use.


Hummus with fresh veggies and pita chips - I can't overstate the importance of fresh veggies. This was one of our biggest concerns at the beggining of the trip. It is difficult to find good, fresh veggies on the road. Dip them in some hummus for a great snack with loads of protein and fiber. For the salty snack cravings, open up the bag of pita chips. We had Stacy's brand Garden Veggie Medley flavor which were great plain and even better with hummus.

Gatorade - It's got what plants crave: electrolytes. (If you haven't seen the movie Idiocracy, you should.) Seriously though, we read that sports drinks keep you hydrated and alert without as many bathroom stops as water and coffee. Maybe it only worked because we thought it would, but it certainly seemed to keep us going without having to stop.

And of course, don't forget the dog food. Not exactly vegan but I thought it would be an excellent excuse to post this adorable picture.

Our road trip was a complete success, in part because we planned ahead to make sure we had an abundance of healthy, tasty vegan food to keep us going through torrential downpours, the state of Georgia (no offense if you're from Georgia), and the general discomfort that comes with 30+ hours of driving.

As soon as we get into our new place we should be posting regularly again. Can't wait!

Monday, August 2, 2010

A Little Taste of Vegan Bavaria

I live in a mixed household. While I am vegan, my boyfriend is a dairy-free omnivore. Our good friend who we often cook with is a lacto-ovo pescatarian. As you can imagine, keeping everyone satisfied in the kitchen can get pretty unruly.

This is why I thank my lucky stars for Meatless Monday! At least once a week, our kitchen is reserved strictly for vegan fare. Why, I never thought I'd be so excited to use the same spoon for different serving dishes! However, this does mean the pressure's on to make original dishes that will impress.

Luckily, I struck gold with this dish. A little taste of German heaven just begging for a pretzel and a stein of good beer.

Vegan Sausages & German Potato Salad

The recipe for the sausages was modified from the blog Vegan Dad, which he modified from Isa. I had to put my own stamp on this treat. Since I stumbled upon this gem I have already made it several times, each time with more success. It looks overwhelming because of the ingredient list, but trust me--easiest thing of all time. Use whatever you have on hand.

Ingredients

1/2 cup blackeyed peas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup eggplant, diced
1 cup cold vegetable broth
1 tbsp. nondairy butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup vegan parmesan
1 1/4 cup gluten
1 tbsp. crushed fennel seed
Any other spices you want! I used salt, black pepper, parika, red pepper flakes and River Road voodoo seasoning.

To Make

Bring water to a boil and place a steamer basket inside. Mash your beans with a fork. Add all of your other ingredients and combine well with a fork. Divide your dough into six equal parts. Roll each individual ball into a sausage-shaped log and wrap with a small square of tin foil. Place your little sausage logs into the steamer basket and cover your pot. Steam for 15 minutes and rotate your sausages. Steam for another 15 minutes and rotate. Steam 10 more minutes and you're good to go!

For this dish, I simply heated up some oil in a pan and tossed the sausages in. Add sauerkraut and heat thoroughly. Serve with a side of German potato salad. I used this recipe, substituting vegan bacon and bacon bits. I also splashed in a tablespoon of oil to mimic the bacon grease. What can I say? I'm being a little indulgent.

Prost!