Lentil Sloppy Joes

Investigating some camping-friendly vegan meals, found this one to try out:

Recipe
1 small onion, diced
1 anaheim pepper, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c red lentils
1 1/2 c broth or water
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vegan worcestershire
1 tsp chili powder
buns

Heat a pot over medium and add the onion & pepper. Saute a few minutes, then add the tomato paste, then garlic for a minute or so. Add the lentils and water, boil, and cook 10-15 minutes until tender. Add the other ingredients and simmer until it thickens, 3-5 minutes. Serve on buns!

Lentil Mushroom Shepherd's Pie

Found another veganized favorite to try out!

Recipe
Filling
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 c carrot, diced
8 oz mushrooms, diced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 1/2 c dried lentils, soaked and drained
2 c veggie broth or water
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 c frozen peas

Potatoes
5 c potatoes, chopped (~5 potatoes)
1/2 c cashews
3/4 c water
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried parsley

• Heat some olive oil in a large pot over medium-low. Add the onion, garlic, carrot & mushroom, and season with salt, pepper, and the spices. Cook 8-10 minutes until soft.
• Add the lentils, broth, tomato paste, and other liquids, and simmer until lentils are cooked, ~20 minutes. Add the peas at the end.
• Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until tender, ~20 minutes.
• Also meanwhile, make your cashew cream by blending them with water.
• Drain and mash the potatoes, then mix in the other ingredients.
• Put the filling in an 8x12 baking dish, and top with mashed potatoes. Broil on high for 5-7 minutes.

Tofu Tikka Masala

Love tikka masala, so definitely worth trying out this vegan version...

Recipe

2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
3 small Thai green chilis, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" ginger, minced
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 c vegan yogurt (or 1/2 c coconut milk)
1/4 c cashews (soaked for 4 hours or boiled for 15 minutes)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 lemon, juiced

1 block tofu
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• Press the tofu, then cube and coat in the coatings.  Bake 15-20 minutes at 350, flipping partway through.
• Heat a pan with some oil on high, then add the garlic, ginger, chilis, and onion.
• Then add the tomatoes, then once some water releases add the spices, then the tomato paste.
• Add the tomato mixture, cashews, and 4 tbsp water to a blender, and mix into a sauce.
• Sauce goes back in the pan on low, simmer, and add the yogurt, then the lemon juice.
• Next add in the tofu and bell pepper, and simmer 10 minutes.
• Serve with the tofu over rice, quinoa, or whatever!

Notes

So, the saag paneer recipe made it really easy to make really authentic-, professional-seeming Indian food. This one was a little trickier - the flavors were there (and awesome), but the texture needed a little fine tuning / trial & error after the first attempt.  Second time around to make it creamier, we added a second (small) tomato, and more coconut milk, prob ending up around 1/2 cup.  Much better:

Vegan Avocado Mac & Cheese

In these vegan-y days, still figuring out how to find some old favorites.  Pizza's a struggle; mac & cheese does give a bit more in terms of options though.  After trying this one out, wanted to give another one a shot!

Recipe

1 large ripe avocado (or 2 small ones)
1 lemon, juiced
1 c basil leaves (loosely packed)
1/4 c cilantro
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
4-6 tbsp nutritional yeast (so, 6)
1/2 c + 1 1/4 c almond or other non-dairy milk
10-12 oz pasta
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp flour

• Get the pasta cooking
• Blend together the avocado, lemon juice, basil, cilantro, spices, nutritional yeast, and 1/2 c almond milk, plus a little salt
• Saute the garlic in some olive oil, then whisk in the flour, then slowly add the 1 1/4 c almond milk.
• Once the sauce thickens, remove from heat and mix in the avocado sauce.
• Pour over the pasta (cooked and drained) and eat!
• Top with more avocado, tomatoes, vegan cheese, etc.

Pancakes v6: Vegan Coconut

Had some extra coconut milk around, plus shredded coconut, and felt like an indulgent breakfast... Found this recipe that seemed to check the boxes and not require any crazy ingredients and stuff:

Recipe
1 c flour (doesn't have to be coconut!)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 c coconut milk
1/2 c water
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

handful of shredded coconut

• Whisk together the dry ingredients, then add the wet ones and combine - doesn't have to be super smooth, lumps are fine!
• Heat a non-stick skillet over medium; once hot, add some coconut oil and cook up batches of pancakes - about 2 tbsp to 1/4 c, a minute or two per side until set and browned.
• In the meantime, sprinkle the shredded coconut on a baking sheet and roast for a few minutes - don't forget while everything else is going on!
• Serve topped with toasted coconut, syrup, butter, etc.

Beet Burgers

This recipe comes courtesy of Purple Carrot, a while back but recreated it now that it's barbecue season!

Recipe
1/4 c quinoa
1/2 c green peas
2 oz shredded beets (maybe like half a beet?)
1/2 c bread crumbs
buns
aioli (3 parts vegenaise, 1 part sriracha or other sauce)
oil, salt & pepper

Cook the quinoa as directed (1/2 c water, ~10 minutes).  Add to a blender with the peas, beets, and bread crumbs and combine well.  Divide the mixture into halves and lump/press them into burgers.  Cook in a skillet with some oil over medium high, ~5 mins per side.  Serve on the buns with aioli and other toppings!

Notes
The patties are a little messy to work with, but actually hold together pretty well.  Not sure if they'd work on a grill though, might have to do some trial and error there...  And the recipe is easy to double or triple for more burgers for more friends, freezing for later, etc.!

"Sausage" (aka mushroom) "Breakfast" (aka anytime of day) Patties

Just did a Virtual Cooking Class with a chef who is on Instagram as @PlantBasedG.life and these are DELICIOUS. They SMELL just like sausage and get a delicious SEAR like a burger but its all mushrooms and plants :)

Ingredients

-3 cups white mushrooms

-1 large white onion, diced

-3 cloves garlic, diced

-1 cup brown rice

-4 oz black olives

-1/2 Jalapeno

-1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Trader Joe's Gluten Free Rice Crumbs- use whatever! In the class he also told us you could also just make toast and use that)

-Avocado oil (2ish tablespoons but I honestly use less than every recipe says for oil)

-English Muffins (I used Ezekiel Gluten Free English Muffins. Highly recommend!!)

Spices

-Cayenne Pepper

-Oregano

-Cumin

-Dried Sage (I honestly just used regular sage and it totally was fine hahaha)

-Thyme

-Salt & Pepper

-Add any other spices you like :)

**NOTE: BLENDER NEEDED

To Serve

Tomato slices, lettuce, and raw onion slices

Steps:

1. Cook the rice, leave to cool

2. Blend the mushrooms till they kinda look like ground beef

3. Saute the onions in the avocado oil for a few mins (till translucent & starting to brown)

4. Add mushrooms to the onions and saute another few mins till the mushrooms are cooked. Add the garlic and ALL the spices (but NOT the jalapeno) and cook for another few mins.

5. Let everything cool (very important because you don't want to put warm stuff in the blender- it will get super hot in there)

6. Put the mushroom concoction, olives, and rice in the blender and blend. Add the bread crumbs & Jalapeno and blend a little more. It should start to look like ground beef.

7. Scoop everything into a bowl (this just makes it easier to form the patties and put on the pan

8. Add a tablespoon of avocado oil to a pan and set it to medium heat. When pan is hot, scoop out a patty sized chunk and put it on! It'll sear just like a burger its crazy. Flip over after 3-5 mins. Play around with timing obviously but cook for about 3-5 mins per side. 

While the patties are cooking, toast your English Muffins!

Serve with the raw tomato slices, raw onion slices, and lettuce. Eric liked his with Hot Sauce. 

ENJOY!! <3 Natalie

Cream of Broccoli Soup (with NO REAL CREAM)

This is another great recipe from The Plan Cookbook. Adjusted by me based on experience. Can easily be made vegan.

3 tbsp unsalted butter (who are we kidding, use more than that) (or olive oil)

1 large onion

herbs — I use a lot more than indicated — so, to taste: 

1 tbsp dried sage

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp celery seed — I love celery seed so use a lot, but note that it gives the soup a real spicy kick!

dash of sriracha and/or cayenne

2 cups chicken stock, chicken broth, vegetable broth

2 cups water (or use 4 cups broth)

1 (14-oz) can full-fat unsweetened coconut milk

8 cups chipped broccoli (~4 heads)

4 cups chipped zucchini (~2 medium)

1-2 avocado, pitted

In a skillet, melt the butter or heat the oil and sauté the onion, sage, cumin, celery seed until onion is softened.

In a soup pot, combine sautéed onion, broth, water, coconut milk, broccoli, zucchini, and cayenne/sriracha. Bring to a boil and simmer until the veggies are softened, about 30 minutes.

Blend the soup with the avocado for extra creaminess! I've never even thought about adding real cream — the coconut milk and avocado makes for a really lusciously creamy soup.

Zucchini Pancakes

This is a recipe from The Plan Cookbook, but modified by me thru experience. Good for breakfast! And with an egg substitution (and no goat cheese) would be vegan.

4-6 cups shredded zucchini (3-4 medium zucchini or 2 large)
4-6 eggs
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 - 1/2 cup coconut flour (or some other kind of flour, I've used buckwheat)
lots of chopped dill (1/2 cup or so)
olive oil
topping: crumped goat cheese

Blot the zucchini with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.

In a bowl, combine: zucchini, eggs, onion, garlic, coconut flour, dill, 1 tsp olive oil and MIX.

Heat olive oil on skillet. Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out pancakes and flatten on skillet. Cook 5-7 minutes until browned on the bottom and can be easily flipped. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Crumple goat cheese on top. Also good with hot sauce.