Vegan/Allergy-Friendly Banana Bread!

 (from ambitiouskitchen.com)

INGREDIENTS:

Wet

3 big bananas mashed, 4 or 5 if you have shrimpy ones (1 1/3 cup mashed)

1/3c melted and cooled oil (called for coconut but canola was fine)

1/2c packed brown sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

2tbsp dairy-free milk of choice

Dry

1 3/4c flour of choice (Bob's 1-1 is a great gf option)

1tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2tsp salt

1/2 cup dairy/soy-free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life is the best brand!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a tin (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 is recommended) with parchment paper and grease inside of pan. *Wasn't sure if they meant grease the pan under the liner or the liner...so I did both!

Mix WET ingredients together in a big bowl.

Mix DRY ingredients together and whisk. 

Add DRY ingredients to WET ingredients and mix together until just combined. Lumps are ok!

Add in chocolate chips and mix.

Put batter into pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Allow bread to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes then remove from pan and place on a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice and eat when cool!

Miso Mushroom Pasta

 Bit of an Asian fusion recipe from here:

Recipe

• 8 oz spaghetti
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 lb (!) mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2 c soy milk*
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 3 tbsp miso paste
• 1 c warm water*
• 1 c green onion, sliced

Heat a bit of olive oil in a big pan, and saute the onion and garlic a couple minutes. Then add your mushrooms (and a little salt & pepper) and cook about 10 minutes to get most of the liquid out.

Probaby put your pasta in while that cooks. Also mix the miso into the water.

Next add the flour to the mushroom pan, and stir up to coat. Then mix in the soy milk, nutritional yeast, and a bit more salt & pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and fold in the pasta and get it all coated. Turn off heat and add the miso water and green onions. Serve!

Notes

This one has a really interesting flavor, and process! It would be a shame to ruin anything with that many mushrooms in it... I was worried the soy milk would be sweet - it's hard to picture in pasta! And it's so much liquid between that and the water, with limited time to cook out. 

But it all comes together! We've played with reducing the liquid (thus the *s above) so there's less broth at the bottom of the pot - although it's tasty broth ;)

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

There are some good vegan cold cuts out there, but I suppose some of the same questions with standard cold cuts apply - what actually goes in them? The answer is probably better on the vegan side, but isn't it nice to make things from scratch? So here's a lunch favorite:

Recipe

• Mash up a can of chickpeas with 2 tbsp veganaise & 1 tbsp hot sauce
• Mix in grated carrot, finely chopped red onion or celery, or any other veggies you have on hand
• Put it on a sandwich with more hot sauce, cheese, extra greens, avocado, sundried tomatoes, or anything else!

Notes

I like to do 2 cans of chickpeas to feel set for sandwiches for a week or two! There aren't a lot of specifics on how much veggie to add in, so use your judgment, but just don't overdo red onion...

Moroccan Freekeh Skillet

 What is freekeh? Why did we have half a pack to use up? I don't have the answers for you. But found this recipe and here we go:

Recipe

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 small eggplant, diced
• 1 squash, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 dates, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, with liquid
• 1/4 c olives
• 2 tsp ras el hanout (substituting a mix of spices we had on hand seemed to work out)
• 1 1/2 c freekeh
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 c veggie broth
• 3 tbsp tomato paste

Saute your veggies & garlic in some oil, then add dates, chickpeas, olives, spices & freekeh and keep going a couple more minutes. Then add the lemon juice, broth & paste and simmer about 15-20 minutes, until teh grains are tender and liquid absorbed (can add more water if needed).

Notes

Turns out, freekeh is pretty good! It has a nice smoky flavor that went well in this eclectic dish. Successfully used it up and had a delicious dinner and good leftovers... Is more freekeh in the future?

Mushroom "Clam" Chowder

 OK so Anne & I eat a lot of southwestern food. And who can complain? Burritos are delicious, and we're in the right region for it to feel authentic (even the vegan version). But when I saw this recipe, I thought it was worth trying for something New England-y...

Recipe

• 12 oz mushrooms, rough chopped
• 4 potatoes, cubed
• 1 sheet sushi nori (we just used seaweed snacks...)
• 4 tbsp flour
• 4 c non-dairy milk (forget what we used - soy, almond, or oat...)
• optional: green onion tops, old bay seasoning

Boil the potatoes 5-10 minutes to give them a head start. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms and green onion, and add the potatoes when they're done. Shred the nori and in it goes, then the flour - stir it all up so everything's coated in flour. Add the milk & old bay and boil for 5 minutes, then simmer 5-10 until it's at the right consistency.

Notes

While I wasn't convinced I was eating authentic New England clam chowder, I was pretty happy with how this came out. It was a bit on the thick side, so might try less flour or cook time.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Not always a soup fan, but had this recipe saved for a bit and took advantage of the recent cold spell to give it a shot!

Recipe

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained & rinsed
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 c veggie broth
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar or lime juice
• salt & pepper, cilantro, avocado, hot sauce, etc.

Heat some oil in a big pot / dutch oven, and cook up the onion, celery & carrot with a little salt & pepper. Next stir int he garlic & seasonings briefly, then add the beans and broth and simmer 30 mins or so.

Next, blend it up a bit. I used my immersion blender - you're not going for a puree, leaving plenty of ingredients in chunks. You can also pour a few cups of soup into a blender and add it back to the pot.

Finish with vinegar, cilantro, hot sauce, etc.

Notes

This was another one that exceeded expectations! The partial blending really helps make it thick and delicious. We kept going back for more:

Crockpot Quinoa Chili

We've been on a bit of a crockpot kick recently with some favorites like Beyond Meat Chili or Kung Pao Chickpeas in the regular meal planning rotation. That said, don't want to overdo them and have them get old, so always on the lookout for new options. This one looked worth a try:

Recipe

• 2 1/2 c vegetable broth
• 1/2 c quinoa
• 1 can (15 oz) beans - black, pinto, your call - drained & rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes - NOT drained
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 c corn kernels
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small chili pepper, minced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

I want to say, just add it all to your crockpot - but the original recipe is a bit more strict on the order. So, if you want to follow that: 

• broth, quinoa, beans & tomatoes
• peppers, carrot, corn, onion, garlic
• seasonings

OK after stirring all those in (in order or not), cook 2.5-3 hours high or 5-6 low - longer makes it less soupy.

Notes

This one came out unexpectedly kick-ass. Was very glad I doubled it up and will be eating scoops of this for a little while... Seriously, it smells so good (with the taste to back it up) that I haven't paused long enough to take a picture the first time or even with a couple rounds of leftovers.