Guest Blogger: The Food Duo – The Pot(Luck) of the Vegan

New bloggers who blog as a couple! Meet – The Food Duo! Here they are in their own words, “We’re a couple of quirky vegan kids in NYC who play with their food! Just don’t tell our moms! Recipes, reviews, news you can use and fun stuff…all from a vegan point of view! The Food Duo is written by Macaroon (girl) and Artichoke (guy).” Keep in touch with the Food Duo on all their social media links: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram. Welcome Macaroon and Artichoke!

Sunday Potluck! Can we do this every weekend…PLEASE?

Sorry, I’m a few days late with my “Kiss Me, I’m Irish (for 24 hours)” line! Then again, if my mom’s correct, we may have some Irish blood somewhere on her side of the family, but who knows? LOL

St. Patrick’s Day certainly has its religious roots, but I’ve always grown up with it being a celebratory day with friends (old, new and those lasting a single pint). The camaraderie that comes about truly makes the day fun and festive more so than just wearing green (which I did) or watching the parade (this year, the day before). This year was no different, except the parade on Saturday the 16th, rather than Sunday the 17th. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a lovely Sunday evening at a pot luck, meeting new folks, eating good food and sharing a common bond being VEGANISM!Organized through the NYC Vegan EatUp group on Meetup.com, our evening was entitled VEGANPOTLUCKAPALOOZA! So, you know anything ending in “PALOOZA” is certain not to disappoint. The pot luck was held at Harmony Kitchen Cafe in the East Village (NYC), which is a great vegan cafe and art space, which is part of the Yippie Museum, a venue of expression and activism. It was the perfect, cozy setting, and a big thanks to David Hall, the owner, for having us! BTW, Harmony Kitchen has some of the best iced tea I’ve ever had, and Artie is in love with their coffee.

The gathering included some home chefs and professional eaters (some being one in the same…like ME). We shared dishes of hearty comfort goodness. The menu was full of deliciousness: delightful rainbow salad, perfect stuffed mushrooms with daikon, two kinds of yummy mac ‘n cheese (one gluten-free), stuffed shells with a flavorful cashew ricotta and garlic mashed potatoes with green cauliflower. The meal was topped off beautiful raw mint pie for dessert. I think we all did a bang up job!

So, you may be wondering what Artie and I made for the evening. Well, our contributions were the stuffed shells and mashed potatoes. Since we made our dishes without following a set recipe, we’ll need to work them out in written form, and share them soon, but they were pretty simple to make.

A sampling of a shell and skin-on mashed potatoes “aerial” shot

 

There isn’t much more I can say except it was great spending time with our fellow vegans, learning a little something about them and about ourselves. It was a wonderful experience and I hope we get to do this again really soon!

Oh and I’m in total love with the mint pie!

AMAZING! So happy Sarah shared the recipe. Will be making this soon for Momma Mac!

Guest Blogger: The Vegan Green – Nut Roast

Always love when new contributors join the VBU! family. Our newest member is Nicole, author of The Vegan Green, a recipe based blog from Devon, UK. As the measuring system is a little different in the UK, you’ll notice Nicole’s measurements are different. I found a converter website, click here to check out the measurement differences.  Follow Nicole on her vegan journey through her: blog, Facebook and Twitter account. Please welcome Nicole!

I thought it a good time to update the nut roast recipe that I use regularly. It is a fantastic recipe, but the method could do with some simplification!

These are the ingredients you will need:

225g cashew nuts chopped/ground
170g breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions finely chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
85g plain wholemeal flour
215ml hot water
1 dessertspoon soy sauce
1 dessertspoon tomato purée
1 dessertspoon yeast extract

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well. Place all wet ingredients in a jug and stir until dissolved. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and really give it a good mix.

Tip into a tin of your choice. I use a cake tin because it has a removable base which makes it easier to take out and place on a plate.

Cook in the oven at 190-200C for 45-60 minutes.

Guest Blogger: A,B,C,Vegan – Cranberry Bread Salad

The holiday season is coming up and Esther from A, B, C, Vegan has a lovely Cranberry Bread Salad recipe for you. Esther took three years to transition to a full vegan lifestyle and understands the challenges new vegans encounter when they first start down this amazing path. She is now a Vegan Lifestyle Coach and plant-based nutritionist, offering personalized coaching for individuals looking to go vegan or merely incorporate some meatless meals and learn about eating healthier. She also offers menu consultation services, helping restaurants add meatless items to their menus to make more restaurants accessible for everyone.
Esther works and blogs at A,B,C,Vegan, where she helps new vegans, experienced vegans, and the merely curious explore this wonderful new world, giving inspiration, motivation, and community for a vegan lifestyle. She teaches the hows (recipes), the whys (health and compassion for animals), the whats (ingredients), and anything else readers want to see.

Esther is a graduate of the Main Street Vegan Academy, self-taught chef, soon to be graduate of the eCornell certification program in plant-based nutrition, and has her Master’s degree in teaching.

Follow her Blog, Facebook and Twitter. Welcome back Esther!

I so badly wanted to add some extra green to my Thanksgiving table, so I devised this salad. And promptly forgot to actually make it for Thanksgiving! But I had the ingredients, so I ended up making it for lunch that weekend… and the next day, and the next day, and the next day…. Yeah, it’s that good. I’ve been devouring it for over a week now and still not tired of it. It finally occurred to me what it reminds me of, and why I love it so much. My Grandpa used to make this cranberry bread for Thanksgiving, and this is basically that – in salad form. (It’s like the opposite of my green smoothies turned kale doughnuts.) Cranberries, walnuts, orange, all mixed together… it’s like the holidays in a bowl! Add this to your holiday table (works just as well for Christmas as Thanksgiving ), and see if it doesn’t bring a little extra smile to your face.

Cranberry bread in a bowl!

Cranberry Bread Salad

Guest Blogger: In Vegetables We Trust – Portabello Stew

Please welcome back Alex of In Vegetables We Trust. This young man has a lovely blog and a very creative mind, I would highly suggest you keep an eye on his blog as I predict we are witnessing a rising star in the making. You can read his first submission HERE: Slow cooker chili, roasted butternut squash and fennel flatbreads. Follow In Vegetables We Trust‘s blog and Facebook account. Welcome back Alex!

Portabello stew:

Ingredients:
1 packet of dried Portobello mushrooms
4 carrots, sliced
2 big waxy potatoes, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
2 cups of mushroom stock (from the rehydrated portobellos)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup or red lentils, rinsed
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 tablespoons mushroom ketchup (optional)
1 tablespoon barley miso
1 teaspoon yeast extract
a dash of tamari/soy

Method:
re hydrate your mushrooms according to packet instructions using plenty of boiling water, whilst they’re rehydrating you can chop all your vegetables. once the mushrooms are rehydrated, pick them out of the liquid with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate ready to be added into the stew later and strain off two cups of the liquid to remove any small bits, use this as your stock.fry of the onion till translucent, then add the garlic and fry a little more. Add the carrots and potatoes next, followed by the lentils stock and tomato sauce. Bring to the boil and then pop the lid on and let simmer for about 20 minutes till the lentil are all cooked and the vegetables are nice and soft. Add the thyme and mix the rest of the ingredients in a measuring cup with a little water and add to the pot, cook till thickened up a bit. Serve in a deep bowl with fresh thyme.

And stuffed flat breads:

Flatbread dough recipe:

1 1/2 cups of strong white bread flour plus extra for dusting your surface when rolling, extra points for unbleached organic
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/3 teaspoon of dried yeast
3/4 cup of tepid water
1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus extra for greasing your baking tray and brushing over you flat bread parcels

Filling ingredients:

1 tin of mock duck, liquid drained
1 teaspoon of freshly crushed cloves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
olive oil for frying
Method:

Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together with a fork. in a cup dissolve your yeast in the tepid water and then pour your oil in the water. Add the liquids into the flour/salt mix gradually whilst mixing with your hands, squeeze out any lumps as they form, if the dough’s a bit wet add a touch more flour- too dry? No problem a tad more tepid water. Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and knead till it is slightly tacky, but still nice and soft. Then leave on the side in a bowl covered by a tea towel for about 45 mins. Now prepare your filling, nice and simple, rub the mock duck in the cloves and cumin, a little salt and cracked black pepper and fry up till nice and browned. When your dough is ready pop the oven onto 230c/450f and split the dough into four little balls and roll into circles on a floured surface till 3-5mm thick, place 1/4 of the filling slightly off centre and fold the dough over sealing the edges with water, place on an oiled baking tray and brush with oil. Bake for about 10-15 mins till crisp. And enjoy! Serve with pistachio sauce and lemon and red onion kale sauté to make a meal, or pop them in your lunch box cold.

Guest Blogger: V is for Vegetables – Lentils and Basmati Rice with Caramelized Onions and Spiced Pita

Please welcome back Vanessa, author of V is for Vegetables. You can read her previous post here a recipe for Zucchini Boats. Check V is for Vegetables on Twitter as well. Please welcome back Vanessa!

My new iPhone finally arrived in the mail. Can you believe the camera on it? I love how many different uses the iPhone has and the camera might be my favorite part on the new one. The camera has facial recognition technology on it which is nothing new but I loved how it kept finding faces in the rice. Do you see a man’s face to the left of the center onion ring? I didn’t see it at first until I realized my phone was trying to tag him as a person. The phone is almost too smart.

This Middle Eastern dish is often called Mujadarah which is a fancy way of saying “rice, lentils and onion.” I adapted this dish from Veganomicon, the excellent cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. The one downfall of this cookbook is the lack of pictures. When I first made this dish, I thought, “No wonder there are no pictures… This looks like kitty litter.” With a little garnish, this dish ends up looking as delicious as it tastes.

Ingredients for rice, lentils and onion:

• 3 large red onions, peeled and sliced into thin rings
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup long-grain basmati rice (brown or white), rinsed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• Basil leaves for garnish

Directions for rice, lentils and onion:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Lay the onion rings flat and separated in a large roasting pan. Toss in olive oil. Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes until translucent and slightly burnt.

3. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add rice, cinnamon, allspice, and cumin. Return to a boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Uncover and gently stir in the lentils. Bring to a boil again then lower heat, cover and simmer. Cook until all water is absorbed. For me, this takes 12-15 minutes. Allow the dish to cool for 10 minutes then fluff with a fork.

5. Fold in the caramelized onions, garnish with basil leaves and serve with pita bread.

Ingredients for spiced pita:

• 4 whole wheat pitas
• 4 Tbsp olive oil for brushing
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Directions for spiced pita:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Slice the pita bread into 1/8ths like a pizza.

3. Combine olive oil with the seasonings. Brush the mixture onto the insides of each pita crisp.

4. Spread the pita crisps out on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until light brown.

Serves 4-6

Slightly adapted from: Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

Guest Blogger: Earthgiven Kitchen – Tomato Cashew Pasta

Please welcome back Sarina from Earthgiven Kitchen, formerly called Earthgiven. Please see her previous contribution post called “Kale is the new bacon”. For this post Sarina will delight us with a vegan gluten free recipe for Tomato Cashew Pasta! Join Earthgiven Kitchen’s blog and Facebook page.

A spin on traditional tomato sauce by adding creamy, nutritious cashews. This recipe was inspired by Vegan Yum Yum’s Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta.

Tomato Cashew Pasta

1 package (454 gm) pasta (we like Tinkyada rice pasta best)
1/2 cup cashews
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp oil
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 1/2 – 2 cups tomato sauce (we like Neal Brothers Arrabiata sauce)
4 large basil leaves, minced
black pepper

Soak the cashew in filtered water for at least one hour, then drain and rinse. (You can read here why nuts should be soaked first.) If you’re short on time, you can soak them in hot water for ten minutes but the longer, the better.

While the pasta is cooking, sautée the garlic in the oil. When soft, combine the garlic and cashews in a food processor until pulverized. Drain the cooked pasta and return the hot pot back to the stove. On low heat, warm 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce, then add the sun-dried tomatoes, cashew and garlic. Add more tomato sauce if you want to thin the sauce (it will make it lower in fat, calories and protein). Add the basil leaves and stir. Pour in the drained pasta and turn gently to coat. Serve topped with black pepper and extra basil leaves if desired.

This is Vegan MoFo post #5!

Guest Blogger: A House Full of Health – Such a busy day! Testing!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to my fellow Canucks. Hope everyone is enjoying the magic that is Vegan Mofo. Please welcome back a veteran VBU! contributor – Marsha, author of the blog A House Full of Health. You can see her first post for VBU! here, second and third. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and of course her blog. Welcome back Marsha!

First day of Vegan Mofo and here I am blogging at 7pm! Yes, I’m behind! But, let me tell you about my day.

I woke 12 hours ago ready to start my day. For the last 2 weeks I’ve been “testing” recipes for a business venture I’m looking to pursue. Plant-Based Personal Chef. Today was another testing day. My steps are simple. Go grocery shopping, pick up fresh bread (if needed), cook, package, dishes (interlaced throughout the day). Sounds easy, right?

Wow! It’s hard work! Rewarding. But, taxing. Maybe I’m just getting old??!!

Last night I took some time to prepare my menu for the week. I used to do this on Thursday evening to subsequently shop on Fridays but with shopping on Mondays, for the time being, busily worked on it last night. Anyway, when preparing a menu I decide on what we will be having for dinner each night as well as ingredients I need to get and at which store. I then wrote down each item I would be cooking including all the “kitchen gadgets,” I would need and all the ingredients for each. This makes it easier to know how many total carrots (or other item) I would need. This makes prep that much easier.

Menu:

Monday: BBQ Ranch Quinoa Salad. This is a recipe I was so excited to try off of Wendy Polisi’s page Cooking Quinoa.  This is to be served with chips and salsa. Guacamole too!

Tuesday: Since I’ve gotten in the habit of salads on Tuesdays I’m keeping with the theme. Big Ole Salad night! With a Country French bread.

Wednesday: Pita sandwich. Filled with a quinoa, chickpea salad. With black-eyed pea hummus. Sweet potato fries as a side dish.

Thursday: Chili (oh yes! It’s that time of year again. I can finalize my recipe!) with rice. Cornbread as a side dish.

Friday: Spaghetti with “meatballs.” Garlic bread as a side

Saturday: Tunisian Bean Stew with Country French Bread. Salad as a side dish. I was wanting to use pumpkin since it’s October and all so I found a great recipe on Susan’s website, Fat Free Vegan.

Sunday: Roasted Squash stuffed with quinoa. Cranberry green beans (getting ready for Thanksgiving too!) as a side dish.

One thing I learned in Culinary School (among many, of course) was getting everything ready for prep. Mis En Place. If I need carrots for 4 of my recipes it would be best to get them all prepped at once. It does seem to make things a tad easier.

I felt as though I had an assembly line going on for produce. I had 7 onions to cut!

One of my favorite kitchen gadgets, my egg slicer. Although, I never use it for eggs. Funny, huh? I use it for mushrooms. Sometimes black or green olives. It’s so convenient and easy to use!

For my chili I roast up some red bell peppers and jalapenos. Today, I did something a little differently. I cut the red bells into large slices. The jalapeno, I cut in half. I roasted that way, it was actually easier than doing them whole. I love roasted veggies!

I believe I sauteed a pound a half of mushrooms today. I guess I like to incorporate mushrooms. They are so flavorful, meaty, and full of great nutritious value.

Today’s cook took 8 hours. That’s not including the 2 hours it took to shop. I’m still learning and I’ve realized this one every recipe I chose had many components. Each one took longer than anticipated which is why my 5-6 hour cook time ended up being extended. I’m in learning mode, that’s for sure.

But!

I’m wiped!

We are certainly prepared for the week. And, the hubby got dinner on the table tonight. He did the finishing touches so I could spend some time with my little one.

This is why I do this! More time with the family. So, yes, a little late on my blog but I have a good excuse, right? And, I now have dinner for the week! Yay!

What time savers do you do in the kitchen?

Do you ever prepare meals ahead of time?

Marsha
~PlantStrongMoma
http://www.ahousefullofhealth.blogspot.com
http://www.ahousefullofhealth.com

Guest Blogger: Healthy Cancer Chick – Vegan Lasagna Roll-ups

The new guest bloggers keep coming. Today we have Kristen Barry, author of Healthy Cancer Chick. Here she is in her own words, “Hi! I’m Kristen Barry, aka Healthy Cancer Chick. I was diagnosed, at the beginning of 2011, with the most aggressive form of breast cancer at the age of 43. At the time my daughters were 9 and 12 and I didn’t want to die. I started looking into diet and alternative ways to help my body heal and recover from the cancer and the treatments I went through intitially. Being vegan has change the way I look at food, at health, and at life. I want to now share with others health and wellness tips and ways to help make the transition from eating meat and dairy to being vegan easier.” Be sure to visit Kristen’s blog, and Twitter account. Please welcome Kristen!

Ahhh Sundays! When I lived up north in New York we had cold weather, rain and snow for most of the year (ok maybe not most of the year but it sure seemed like it). Sunday’s were always great days to make big lasagna’s, roasts, pots full of chili, nice hearty and heavy meals. Well, living in sunny Florida is great for eating a healthier diet. I eat so many fruits and vegetables that my kids think my skin is turning green but with the rain we have been getting down here the past few days, I was in the mood for a nice hearty meal. This vegan lasagna is so good I ate it for three straight days and was sad when it was all gone. I adapted and tweaked different recipes and put them together to make one great tasting Sunday dinner meal….so enjoy!

Don’t be put off by all the steps to this lasagna. It’s not that difficult to make and it’s soooo worth it.

Walnut “Meat”

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts

10 sun-dried tomatoes (soaked for 1 hour if you are using dried variety not in jar)

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4-1/2 Tablespoon chili powder

1/8-1/4 cayenne powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Simply blend all together until you get a chunky, meaty texture like the picture above

Lemon Basil Cheeze Spread

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 30 minutes

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

sea salt and pepper (just a little of each)

Blend it all together until you get a creamy smooth spreadable cheese consistency like the picture above

Lasagna

Ingredients

10 whole wheat lasagna noodles

1 jar organic pasta sauce or homemade marinara

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large zucchini chopped

2 large handfuls of fresh spinach

1 sweet onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

3 garlic cloves

sea salt and pepper

Directions

1. Boil noodles and rinse

2. In large skillet saute zucchini, onion, garlic, pepper, and salt and pepper in olive oil for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add spinach and just saute another minute or two to wilt.

3. Preheat oven to 375

4. Pour 1 cup of sauce on bottom of large baking pan

5. Taking one noodle at a time, spread some of the cheeze mixture, layer with some crumbled “meat”, spoon on some of the sautéed veggies.

6. Roll it up and place in the pan with sauce. Repeat with all of the noodles.

7. Top with remaining sauce and bake, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes.

This is great with some fresh sprouts or a nice green salad.

-Kristen
Choosing healthy living over dying

Guest Blogger: Turning Veganese – Recipe Veggies Makhani

Please welcome Christie and Brent who are a vegan couple with a lovely personality and a knowledge to share. Here they are in their own words, “Turning Veganese is written by Brent, Christie and Melissa. Melissa, the creator of the blog, invited Brent and Christie to participate when she felt the urge to do more for her health, the environment and animals by going vegan. Posts in the blog are submitted by varying combinations of the three authors, each bringing their own taste and style to the table. This particular post is brought to you by Brent and Christie. Brent hails from Washington state and spent 6 years in Portland, Oregon working as an engineer for Xerox and playing drums for the rock band Of Former Fame before moving to Miami to join long time love Christie. Christie’s early experience in genetics at the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hosptal inspired her to continue her work as a biochemist and molecular biologist first at Cornell University and now at Jackson Memorial Hospital for the University of Miami. Brent and Christie are both avid mountain climbers, Brazilian jiu jitsu enthusiasts and lovers of all things SciFi. When asked “why vegan?”, Brent says: “Vegan is a choice that leads to knowledge, which encourages enlightenment. It challenges virtually every Western convention and results in empowerment. Consumption over preservation, slaughter and exploitation over sustainability, toxicity over longevity. These messages have been ground into me as an American since birth, and continued to be my lifestyle up until challenging myself to be vegan. Now I have a better understanding of my effect on the planet, the impact I have on my community, and the control I have over my own health. Vegan is positive change.” When asked “why vegan?”, Christie says: “Vegan isn’t a sales pitch or a diet plan, its a philosophy grounded in the idea that animals aren’t here for humans to exploit. A healthier body and a cleaner environment is merely good karma for treating our neighbors well.” You can find us on FaceBook, Twitter and we’d love to hear from you EMAIL US if you’ve got any questions, We’d also like to thank Vegan Bloggers Unite! for creating a forum for vegans to collaborate and find one another in this carnist world!” Aww, thanks for the shout out. Welcome Christie and Brent!

The man and I are always trying to reproduce take-out favorites at home. A few weeks ago I became obsessed with creating a truly vegan, gluten-free version of veggies makhani which we periodically order from a beloved Indian restaurant. “Makhani” means butter in Hindustani and though a lot of restaurants make it with olive oil as a cheap alternative to ghee, I still worry my special request for olive oil won’t be met. This version isn’t stereotypical Indian food but rather an Americanized version of the Indian classics but that shouldn’t stop you from giving this a try. We made ours with traditional herbs and spices, peas and tofu instead of paneer. Paneer is a traditional home-made Indian cheese often used in this dish. Tofu is a great vegan substitute. Other veggies that would be appropriate include bell peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, and potatoes.

I started with the following:
1 carton of firm Chinese style water packed tofu, cut into bite sized pieces
1 lb bag of frozen peas

Before you do anything, set these aside to drain and thaw
respectively. I like to marinade my tofu in lemon juice for 30 minutes
or so with a dash of ground coriander. I finish it by heating the tofu
lightly in the pan I’ll eventually add my sauce to and pouring off any
excess liquid.
1 tsp oil
1 generous pinch of cinnamon
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional, but recommended)
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, sliced (more if you like spice)
1 small onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
6 oz. tomato paste
1/2 pinkie sized piece of turmeric, sliced OR 1/2 tsp dried turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp syrup (any kind will do)
2 cups vegetable stock (use water if you need more)
1/2 cup cashew nuts (soaked is good)
1 tbsp vegan “butter”
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and chili paste to taste
Fresh green coriander/cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the cumin and fenugreek seeds, and when they sputter add the cinnamon. Add the ginger and turmeric and stir for a minute or so over medium-high heat. Add the onions, “butter” and a little salt and saute until the onions start to brown, about five minutes. Add the tomatoes, cashew nuts and chilli powder. Saute the mixture until the tomatoes soften. If the mixture starts to get too dry before the tomatoes are done, add some water or vegetable stock and continue cooking. Once the tomatoes are really soft, turn off the heat and let the mixture cool. Pour into a blender along with the lemon, syrup, and tomato paste, using some broth to get all the
paste out of the can. An extra tablespoon of cashew butter won’t hurt but we’re trying to keep this light. Blend to a smooth paste adding veggie stock, syrup, salt, and chili paste as necessary.

I don’t recommend blending the mixture while it’s still hot because it can be dangerous. If you have a hand blender, this is the time to use it. Pour the blended paste back into the saucepan with your tofu, turn on the heat, add the remaining vegetable stock if the mixture is particularly thick. Now add the peas and any other veggies you like and stir them in. Let the mixture heat until it’s steamy. Garnish with coriander leaves, and serve hot with some rice, or a suitable substitute.

We used quinoa that we prepared by microwaving at 2 minute intervals. We also added some cardamom pods because they bring out the nutty smells and flavors in quinoa with their lemony aroma.

I just wish I could take a picture of the flavor for you: this is comfort food, pure and simple. I hope you get to enjoy some!

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

Guest Blogger: Chronicles of Passion – Unmexican Burritos

Who doesn’t love burritos? Great comfort food and easy on the budget if you want to stretch a dollar. Laura, author of Chronicles of Passion, is a: runner, lover of cooking, baking and traveling. She is someone who enjoys being social, meeting new people, and gaining new experiences. By taking on challenges Laura discovered she enjoys participating in hot yoga – pretty healthy revelation! With hugs and boundless creativity she plans to take on the world; right after finishing University. Please welcome Laura!

Let’s be serious: the only thing Mexican about these burritos is that I called them that.

They are made with fava beans, not black beans or refried beans.

They have sweet potato, red cabbage and apple. A great combination together, but who puts that in burritos?

They are served in homemade 100% wholewheat flour tortillas. Semi-burrito-like I suppose.

They are a nice mix of spicy and sweet – not just all-out-burning-my-mouth-spicy like a lot of burritos.

Oh and they have kale. Healthified as my brother would say.

But really, they are just my own version of burritos. One that is a little different, a little uncharacteristic of said Mexican classic, and a whole lot original. Be original. Make whatever you want and call it whatever you want, because sometimes it’s not about being the same, conforming to the normal, going with the flow. It’s not about doing what every one else is doing, making what everyone else says and having the same thing over and over. It’s about being spontaneous, trying something new, making something different. Yeah you might mess it up (don’t worry, I mess up a lot of recipes, and they just never make it on here . . . ), sometimes it might just be a total flop (remember my sourdough bread?), but at the end of the day, you fail, mess it up, try again, start again and eventually succeed. And when you succeed in something a little out of the ordinary, it’s a little bit sweeter. Because it was nobody else’s successes that you were running after or coming second to. It was all your own.

Unmexican Burritos

Quite unmexican ingredients, but just as messy and awesome as the standard. Be original.

Ingredients (2 Burrito fillings)

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced
• 1/2 portobello mushroom, sliced
• 1/4 cup red cabbage, diced
• 1/4 cup sweet potato, cut into match sticks
• 1/4 cup stewed tomatoes, with juice
• 1/4 apple, sliced
• 1/4 tsp ground Fenugreek
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp garam Marsala
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp honey mustard
• 1 tbsp apple wine (or juice or cider)
• 2 flour tortillas (homemade or store bought)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fava beans, drained
• 3 kale leaves, torn into pieces

Instructions

• In a small saucepan, cook onion and garlic over medium heat until fragrant.
• Add red cabbage, mushroom, sweet potato, stewed tomatoes and spices. Cover and let simmer until vegetables are mostly cooked.
• Add apple wine, balsamic vinegar, mustard and apple and continue to cook on medium heat until vegetables are fully cooked.
• Add fava beans, kale and tomato sauce to thicken. Cover and simmer until kale has wilted.
• Spoon into two flour tortillas and roll into burritos.

Don’t worry, these burritos are still just as messy as the classic kind. I guess that’s kind of normal.