Vegan
I was half-heartedly looking for a breakfast quinoa "recipe" just because I was still unsure as to the best way to cook it. Oatmeal is easy because it's familiar. I whipped this together this morning and it seems to have worked out pretty well...
I did my standard 1/4 cup of grain + 1/2 cup water (1 grain to 2 water) and made it exactly like oatmeal...brought the water to boiling, lowered the temp, let it simmer until it started getting soft. After that I tossed it quickly into the cast iron with some oil and mixed it for about 5 minutes or so, just enough for it to get hot and coated and cooked a little further.
I added chocolate rice milk, walnuts, dried cranberries, flax, and chia seeds; again, my standard oatmeal toppings. The result? The quinoa had an incredible flavor, overwhelming everything else. Bursting with nuttiness. It's a highly recommended alternative to the relatively bland taste of oatmeal.
That also got me thinking about how much oil I use in my cooking, so I may try to cut down on that...I always use extra virgin, but I'm wondering if I'm just tasting the oil more than the food. Experimentation time!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Going Vegan
I'm finally taking the (not very deep) plunge and going entirely vegan. After getting more immersed in the vegetarian/vegan world I began to realize I was being entirely dishonest with myself about why I "couldn't" go vegan, and finally stripped myself of the last of my preconceived notions about what it means. It didn't hurt that I took a look around my kitchen and realized I had been slowly cutting out all dairy and eggs in the first place; I hardly eat cheese anymore, I've never drank milk, and eggs really are not that appealing to me (I mostly got back into cooking them because my boyfriend loves them). The only holdout was yogurt, which I was eating and cooking with frequently, but spending a few minutes looking up alternatives removed any doubts.
So here I go.
So here I go.
Tofu, Eggplant, and Hummus Taco
Vegan
This was easily my best meal to date, and a major victory in a few different areas. It was the first time I feel like I cooked both tofu and eggplant WELL. I've been experimenting with the two for a while with less than amazing results. LAST NIGHT THAT ERA CAME TO AN END.
All you need is...
Tofu (super pressed)
Eggplant
Oil
Curry powder
Soy sauce
Teryaki
Szechuan peppercorns*
salt/seasoning mix
tortillas
hummus
Press the living fuck out of your tofu. You want the firm/extra firm stuff, then leave it in the fridge under some heavy stuff at least overnight. Once you're ready to cook it, cut it into cubes, then toss it in your soy, teryaki, peppercorns, and curry powder. Let it sit while you heat up your cast iron skillet and slice your eggplant in nice, thin slices. Once your skillet is super hot put in the tofu and cook it for a while, probably at least 10 minutes. You'll be able to smell when it's getting ready due to the peppercorns. After the tofu is done, put in the salted eggplant and let that cook for a while (at least 5 minutes, probably more). I eyeballed both of them.
I downed this excellent meal with an excellent Dreadnaught from 3Floyds, which contributed to the out-of-this-world awesome of this meal.
* A note about szechuan peppercorns...these things were probably one of the only reasons this was as good as it was. This spice is truly a thing of beauty, so much so that they were apparently banned at one point. If you can find some snatch them up.
This was easily my best meal to date, and a major victory in a few different areas. It was the first time I feel like I cooked both tofu and eggplant WELL. I've been experimenting with the two for a while with less than amazing results. LAST NIGHT THAT ERA CAME TO AN END.
All you need is...
Tofu (super pressed)
Eggplant
Oil
Curry powder
Soy sauce
Teryaki
Szechuan peppercorns*
salt/seasoning mix
tortillas
hummus
Press the living fuck out of your tofu. You want the firm/extra firm stuff, then leave it in the fridge under some heavy stuff at least overnight. Once you're ready to cook it, cut it into cubes, then toss it in your soy, teryaki, peppercorns, and curry powder. Let it sit while you heat up your cast iron skillet and slice your eggplant in nice, thin slices. Once your skillet is super hot put in the tofu and cook it for a while, probably at least 10 minutes. You'll be able to smell when it's getting ready due to the peppercorns. After the tofu is done, put in the salted eggplant and let that cook for a while (at least 5 minutes, probably more). I eyeballed both of them.
I downed this excellent meal with an excellent Dreadnaught from 3Floyds, which contributed to the out-of-this-world awesome of this meal.
* A note about szechuan peppercorns...these things were probably one of the only reasons this was as good as it was. This spice is truly a thing of beauty, so much so that they were apparently banned at one point. If you can find some snatch them up.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Taco Fight Club 3: Eggplant papas
Vegetarian
This didn't go over well with one of the other members of taco fight club because he hates eggplant, but I enjoyed it.
* Eggplant
* Yogurt
* Salt/Pepper
* Taco seasoning
* Black beans
* Butter
Cook the eggplant as you would mashed potatoes, add all the seasoning, and serve on a tortilla with beans. Easy? You bet.
Fair warning, you may or may not want to remove the skins of the eggplants, they stay very rubbery. Overall the flavor will be very delicate. Also fair warning, they don't really mash nicely like potatoes. Expect them to be super watery. If you have leftovers the water will be reabsorbed (sucking in all that nice flavor).
This didn't go over well with one of the other members of taco fight club because he hates eggplant, but I enjoyed it.
* Eggplant
* Yogurt
* Salt/Pepper
* Taco seasoning
* Black beans
* Butter
Cook the eggplant as you would mashed potatoes, add all the seasoning, and serve on a tortilla with beans. Easy? You bet.
Fair warning, you may or may not want to remove the skins of the eggplants, they stay very rubbery. Overall the flavor will be very delicate. Also fair warning, they don't really mash nicely like potatoes. Expect them to be super watery. If you have leftovers the water will be reabsorbed (sucking in all that nice flavor).
Look what came in the mail...
(Meat courtesy of my very carnivorous roommate)
$20 with free shipping on Amazon, made two recipes from it so far and have been extremely happy. It has instructions to make anything you can imagine, including seitan, which is going to be my next experiment. Highly recommended for any vegetarians and vegans who want to expand their cooking world.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Pancakes for Athletes
Vegetarian.
This is hands-down one of my favorite breakfast recipes. You can easily prepare it the night before and just leave the batter in the fridge overnight, which can save you a good 5 to 10 minutes in preparation. The batter will probably keep at least a week.
1 cup cooked rice
2 eggs
1 banana
1/2 cup "milk" (I always use rice or soy milk)
1 TBSP flour
Anything you'd like to add flavor. I'd suggest berries, nuts, and/or honey. I also add chia seeds and flax seeds because they're supposed to be good for runners or something.
Dump it all in a blender, then cook it. You know, the same way you'd cook any other pancake.
I generally cook a couple of sunny-side-up eggs (pasture raised free-range CSA eggs, of course) and a fruit smoothie to go with this. This is a great, healthy, not too heavy breakfast that will keep you full for hours.
This is hands-down one of my favorite breakfast recipes. You can easily prepare it the night before and just leave the batter in the fridge overnight, which can save you a good 5 to 10 minutes in preparation. The batter will probably keep at least a week.
1 cup cooked rice
2 eggs
1 banana
1/2 cup "milk" (I always use rice or soy milk)
1 TBSP flour
Anything you'd like to add flavor. I'd suggest berries, nuts, and/or honey. I also add chia seeds and flax seeds because they're supposed to be good for runners or something.
Dump it all in a blender, then cook it. You know, the same way you'd cook any other pancake.
I generally cook a couple of sunny-side-up eggs (pasture raised free-range CSA eggs, of course) and a fruit smoothie to go with this. This is a great, healthy, not too heavy breakfast that will keep you full for hours.
Yogurt Veggie Curry
Vegetarian.
I threw this together on a whim a few weeks ago and am really starting to love it, mainly because it's so delicious and fast, and just a little different.
A pile of veggies
Your big adult yogurt
Curry powder
Soy sauce
(I used fish sauce but it's entirely optional)
Saute the veggies in extra virgin olive oil until they're soft.* Take the pan off the heat, and let it cool for a second, then slowly add the yogurt (so as to not curdle it). Add in the curry powder and the soy suace. That's it!
For the amount of time this takes, it's totally worth it. It takes maybe a half hour total.
* I wasn't totally pleased with my veggie curry today just because I definitely undercooked, my veggies, but this is absolutely a personal preference. If you cook it longer all the flavors will melt together and you'll end up with a very nice, soft base for your curry, but if you undercook it you end up with a really nice, crunchy base that allows you to taste all the bare flavors of the food. Your call.
I threw this together on a whim a few weeks ago and am really starting to love it, mainly because it's so delicious and fast, and just a little different.
A pile of veggies
Your big adult yogurt
Curry powder
Soy sauce
(I used fish sauce but it's entirely optional)
Saute the veggies in extra virgin olive oil until they're soft.* Take the pan off the heat, and let it cool for a second, then slowly add the yogurt (so as to not curdle it). Add in the curry powder and the soy suace. That's it!
For the amount of time this takes, it's totally worth it. It takes maybe a half hour total.
* I wasn't totally pleased with my veggie curry today just because I definitely undercooked, my veggies, but this is absolutely a personal preference. If you cook it longer all the flavors will melt together and you'll end up with a very nice, soft base for your curry, but if you undercook it you end up with a really nice, crunchy base that allows you to taste all the bare flavors of the food. Your call.
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