Vegan Stovetop ‘Baked’ Beans

Beans, beans, the magical fruit. The more you eat, the more… beneficial fibre you are furnishing your body with. Yeah.

Shout out to my sister who, very sweetly, requested that I post a new salad recipe, as it is apparently quite hot in Toronto right now.

Sorry, but it’s pretty darn chilly here and I couldn’t face a cold supper. I spied a can of Trader Joe’s Organic Baked Beans in my cupboard and they looked appealing to someone who decided to join Bike to Work Week and has been schlepping in the rain 14 kilometres a day (that would be me; I had to brag about it somehow). They’re super tasty and animal product-free, but they contain mustard, which is a no-no for certain people in the house (not I, I adore mustard).

So, all that to say that although it may be Summer in some parts of the world, it sure isn’t in Vancouver, and sometimes a gal just wants some beans on wheat-free toast on an almost-June evening.

This recipe was inspired by and adapted from Katie’s Easy GF, Vegan Baked Beans at Nourishing Flourishing. Thanks, Katie! I didn’t want to dirty another dish, so I didn’t bake them. Tangy, bursting with flavour, and not too sweet, these beans were a lovely and simply dinner served with toast and a simple salad.

Looks like chili, but it’s mostly just beans.

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large white onion, diced

4 smallish cloves garlic, minced

1 19 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (can use different beans; I used what I had on hand)

1 19 oz. can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

4 tbsp ketchup (I used organic)

1 1/2 tbsp molasses

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp prepared horseradish (not the mayo-y kind)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tbsp Bragg’s (or tamari)

salt

pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a pan over medium-low.

Add onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If they start to stick, add a splash of water and carry on.

Add garlic and stir until fragrant, around 2 minutes.

Add beans and sprinkle a little more salt. Cook for a couple minutes.

Add all other ingredients, including 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.

Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add pepper and taste for salt.

Serve with hot buttered toast, or whatever you like.

Serves approximately 3 as a main.

Pumpkin Bean Quinoa Stew

Did you know that the spanish word for ‘pumpkin’ is calabaza?

I feel a bit like a broken record sometimes. This recipe, like many others, was born of pantry ingredients and a blasé attitude towards cooking. I’ve been busy and, as a result, not cooking or blogging. In fact, for the first time, feeding myself feels like a chore. I have even depleted my precious  freezer-ful of Trader Joe’s packaged vegetarian goodies. Sad times.

Feeling like I needed something wholesome and real, I glumly poked around my kitchen the other night, zeroed in on a can of pumpkin puree leftover from the Fall, and finally the rusty wheels of inspiration started turning. Very creakily.

What resulted was a Mexican-inspired pumpkin bean stew, with some quinoa thrown in for good measure. Cilantro, garlic , cumin and lime come together to give pumpkin puree a decidedly non-Thanksgiving kick.

Tasty and hearty, I hope this stew chases away your kitchen doldrums, like it did mine!

Hearty, rich and full of flavour.

 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large white onion, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dried quinoa

1 19 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (or other bean, such as black or pinto)

1 28 0z. can pumpkin puree

1 bouillon cube

6 cups boiling water

1/2 a lime

1/2 tbsp salt ( and more to taste)

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced for garnish

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot on medium-low heat.

Add the onion, sprinkle with a little salt, and fry for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil a kettleful of water.

Add zucchini and bell pepper to the onions and cook until slightly softened.

Add cumin, chili powder, garlic and quinoa and cook, stirring, for a few minutes.

Add beans, pumpkin, bouillon cube, salt and 6 cups boiling water.

Cover, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes or until veggies are tender and quinoa is cooked.

Squeeze in the lime juice, and stir in the cilantro. Taste for salt. I added more.

Serve with avocado and a sprinkle of cilantro on top if you want to get fancy.

Makes a big pot of stew. I froze a LOT of it for a rainy day. Add more water if you’d like a soupier consistency.

 

Vegan and Gluten-Free Lasagna

Decadent melt-in-your-mouth lasagna, pretending it was eaten with green accompaniments. Lies!

Catchy name, hey? Fret not, this lasagna is so saucy cheesy good that it has little use for clever titles and is also omni-approved. It’s only downside is that it is a wee bit tedious. But then, isn’t that always the case with lasagna?  While delicious, it’s not really a weeknight food.

So, obviously I made this on the weekend and it wasn’t really that much work. I just prefer to make lasagna when company is coming over because it feeds a crowd and also pleases said crowd. I’m sorry, folks, it’s been a long day and I have a cold and am not feeling especially clever and this recipe is going to be a doozy to write!

I hope I’m not turning you off making this now! Don’t listen to me! I’m cranky. What I was trying to say was that it’s not a big deal. People are coming over, so you’re cleaning your house, right? Trying to make it look like your bathroom always sparkles! Well, while you’re doing that, have your sauces simmering. Once they’re done, you really just have to assemble your lasagna and bake it. Do your dishes, and it looks like a lasagna just magically appeared out of your squeaky clean oven. I love that! There’s something so 50s housewifish about pulling a casserole or something out of a pristine kitchen.

Another good thing about lasagna, and this recipe in particular, is that not only allows your guests to feast, but also feeds you for a week, because this recipe makes one big lasagna, and then also a secret second mini one. I had some of my secret one for lunch today, and it really does get better with age. So freaking good. Sadly, it’s gone now, but yours doesn’t have to be! Invite people over so you have an excuse to indulge, or just treat yourself because you deserve it! Yes, you.

The main lasagna, all dressed up and ready to go! Into the oven.

This recipe is made without wheat or dairy, but honestly, you can’t tell. The cheese sauce recipe is pretty much Karina‘s, although I didn’t consult it this time because I have made it so often that I just wing it now.

A note on the vegetable layer: this recipe made enough for the larger lasagna, but not the secret mini one, which is the one I photographed. Honestly, it was really good without the veggies, because it was more comfort food-y. I like to throw the veggies in for a little extra nutritional value, but they are optional.

As for the noodles, I used rice lasagna noodles, which aren’t specifically oven ready, but you can treat them like they are! No boiling necessary, for real! They turn out beautifully every time.

The following sauce recipes are really handy, as they are ones I make all the time as my go-to tomato and cheese sauces, respectively.

Tomato Sauce Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 white onions, diced

1 tsp. dried basil (or fresh basil, if you have– use more!)

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup red wine

2 tbsp. capers, chopped (optional)

2 24-0z bottles Italian strained tomato sauce aka passata di pomodoro (mine had basil leaf in it)

2 small or 1 large can Hunt’s plain tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Tomato Sauce Directions:

Heat oil in a soup pot on medium to medium-low heat. Add onion and sprinkle with a little salt. Sauté for 15-20 minutes until soft, stirring as needed and adjusting the heat so the onions don’t burn at all.

Add basil, rubbing it between your hands. I think this releases the flavour, but I might be making that up. I kind of just don’t like the texture of dried herbs, so I like to soften them up.

Add garlic and let cook 1 minute until fragrant.

Turn heat to max, and add wine. Stir until wine has reduced and the alcohol has evaporated. Turn heat back down to medium and add capers and all of the tomato sauces.

Cover, reduce heat a little and simmer for half an hour.

Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed.

Cheese Sauce Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil

4 heaping tablespoons rice flour

2 cups plain non-dairy milk

3 cups water

1 tsp. onion powder

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp tahini

1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. cayenne (optional- this’ll give it a kick, which you may not want for mac ‘n’ cheese, but it’s good in lasagna)

1/2 cup Daiya (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Cheese Sauce Directions:

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat.

Whisk in flour and let cook for around 2 minutes.

Slowly whisk in milk and water, letting the sauce thicken in between additions.

Once sauce is almost as thick as you’d want it to be, whisk in all other ingredients.

Let the sauce cook until desired thickness. Taste for salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I added a little more of all these things!

Vegetable Mixture Ingredients (Optional and Flexible):

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 white onion

crown of broccoli

3 cloves garlic

1/2 bunch kale

2 handfuls fresh spinach

small box of mushrooms

Vegetable Mixture Directions:

Dice all ingredients into small pieces. The idea here is to sort of mimic your standard spinach layer, not create a vegetable lasagna.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan or, even better, a wok, on medium-high heat.

Sauté vegetables until soft, around 20 minutes or so.

Lasagna Ingredients:

The above 3 components

2 boxes of rice lasagna noodles (or 1 if you don’t want an extra mini one)

1 small tub of vegan cream cheese (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, assemble your lasagnas! My large pan is 9″ x 13″ and my small one is 8″ x 8″, by the way.

Spread a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan, followed by noodles, then tomato sauce, then cheese sauce, then noodles, then all of the vegetables and continue on like that until you run  out of space, leaving about an inch of room on top. I like to finish with cheese sauce. Don’t be stingy with sauce! The noodles need it to cook properly and they soak up a fair amount. I also like a saucy lasagna. Also, don’t overlap the noodles. You’ll need to break them to fit, possibly, as I did. Save little weird noodle pieces for your secret lasagna! It’s pretty much made of them!

Distribute little dollops of cream cheese evenly on top, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake another 15 minutes, or until noodles are easily pierced with a fork.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Note: I don’t bake 2 lasagnas at once, because I tried it once and the noodles turned out really gross. You can assemble the 2 lasagnas at the same time, but bake them one at a time. The little one likes to bake while everyone’s eating because then everyone is distracted and won’t realize that you’re holding out on them!

Whew! I need some lasagna after all that. How about you?

Cheesy, saucy goodness, just like a real lasagna!

Green Soup with Fresh Cilantro Pesto: A Recipe, With Love

Green soup with a fresh cilantro pesto that packs a wallop. Of garlic.

The recipe that I am about to share with you is one I will most likely never make again, at least not for a long , long time. Don’t get me wrong—it was really good!

As some of you may remember, I was on a soup kick a couple months ago. I was attempting to jam as many vegetables and healthy fats (snicker, I just accidentally typed ‘farts’. Farts are healthy too) into one easily eaten bowl. This was my way of feeling useful and proactive when my Papa was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to create any other recipes for him, as he died two months later on Valentine’s Day.

I normally would feel uncomfortable sharing such intimate things with the anonymous vastness that is the internet, but my Papa was a public guy. He was the editor of a local newspaper, and then moved on to positions in communications and media relations. So when he was diagnosed, he was excited to collaborate with me here, using The Keen Kitchen as a space to share words and cancer-fighting recipes . We both hoped and believed that this would carry on a lot longer than it did.

I am lucky to have collaborated with Papa several times in the past. When I was 9, he had my review one of my favourite albums at the time, Sharon, Lois & Bram’s Candles, Snow & Mistletoe, put in the paper. When I was 14 and at the peak of my awkward years, I again wrote something that was published (I can’t remember what), accompanied by the worst photo of me in existence. Last year, after reading my blog, he gave me a shot at interviewing people and writing stories for the charity organization where he worked, leading me in a roundabout way to the newspaper job I have now. So even though he verbally tried to discourage me from going down this path, I now realize that he believed in and nurtured my abilities, inadvertently grooming me to follow in his footsteps.

This post has been months in the making. As things progressed, Papa moved more slowly, but he was determined to write something about this soup, even a week before he succumbed to his failing liver. I felt like I needed to write this before moving on to other posts—something I couldn’t face until now. I’ve still been cooking and have made a few things that I deemed bloggable, but it just didn’t feel right to do so. I do want to carry on creating recipes and writing, especially since he was so supportive of this endeavor. I know I’ll think of him every time I write and use my portable photo studio, and that my heart will ache every time. Unfortunately this is life, and we just have to carry on and try to live in an exemplary fashion, doing justice to the memory of those we have lost. I still feel like Papa is here somehow, and I hope I can continue to make him proud.

And keep making healing soups, like this one.

A weird thing-- Papa took a few pictures of this soup too. I wanted to use one here, but they have vanished from my computer, as have the emails they were attached to. Spooky.

As usual, this recipe makes a big pot of soup. It’s tasty by itself, but a drizzle of fresh cilantro pesto really takes it to another level, so I strongly recommend making it! A warning, though: it has a strong garlic flavour, which I love but some may not. It’s so good for you, though.

As for the soup itself, the ingredients are quite flexible. Have anything else green and lovely on hand? Throw it in! The more the merrier.

Soup Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets (or even better, broccoli. I just didn’t have any on hand.)

1 kettleful of water

1 tbsp bouillon powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. oregano

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 kales leaves, torn

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups fresh spinach

salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro Pesto Ingredients:

1 bunch cilantro, washed and finely chopped

1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Heat oil on medium in a large soup pot. Add onions, zucchini and cauliflower and/or broccoli and fry until softened.

Meanwhile, boil a kettleful of water.

Add herbs, bouillon, garlic and kale to the pot, stirring until wilted. Add the white beans and the boiling water (about 6 cups). Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until all the veggies are soft.

While the soup is simmering away, make your cilantro pesto: throw all ingredients into a small jar and stir. Done.

When the veggies are soft, add the fresh spinach and let cook a couple minutes until it’s wilted.

Take the soup off the heat and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a generous drizzle of cilantro pesto.

Update: found it! This is Papa's photo.

Vegan French Onion Soup

Je m'appelle "Soupe." Enchantée.

Let’s talk about onions. How do you feel about them? Perhaps because of their pungency, they seem to incite strong feelings one way or another. In my case, our Facebook relationship status would be “It’s Complicated.” Remember when I told you how gross mayonnaise is? Well, I used to feel the same  way about onions. Hated them. Would not go near them. Would not eat anything they had even touched.

I have been daydreaming about French Onion Soup for like four days and have been writing this post in my head for three. I am obsessed. How did I get to this place, you ask? Well, I learned that onions can be cooked into oblivion. When slow-cooked, they dissolve and impart a delectably rich flavour to every dish they meet. Once I wrapped my head around this concept, I gradually started to actually like the little tear-jerkers.

Oh, and I grew up and quit being such a whiner.

This recipe isn’t particularly innovative: a quickle Google search will give you oodles of French Onion Soup recipes with similar methods and ingredients. I have actually never eaten the stuff until today, as I understand it is usually made with beef broth and I’ve been a pescatarian for nearly twenty years. Plus, the whole anti-onion thing made this soup my literal nightmare in a bowl.

Turns out the secret to making this soup is caramelizing the onions for about an hour. Uncovered! Think about what this makes your house smell like! Think about what slicing five big onions means for your eyes! It’s worth it though. If you’re a reformed onion-loather or a French Onion Soup-deprived vegan or vegetarian, this one’s for you.

I don’t know if this tastes anything like the classic beef-based version, but hot damn is it ever tasty! Super rich and flavourful, the Daiya and bread really take it to another place– onion heaven.

Oh, and apparently an onion a day keeps the doctor away.

La soupe, nue et sans pain et fromage.

I used Michael Smith’s recipe (mostly because his name is a combination of my parent’s names) as a base and easily veganized it.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)

splash water

5 white onions, halved and thinly sliced

1/2 cup brandy ( I imagine sherry or white wine would be nice too)

6 cups water (or vegetable stock– omit the bouillon cubes)

1 onion bouillon cube

1 mushroom bouillon cube

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tbsp Bragg’s or wheat-free tamari

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Daiya mozzarella

Wheat-free bread of choice (I used Quinoa Barley bread– NOT gluten-free!)

Directions:

Throw onions, vegan butter, splash of water, a pinch of salt, and oil into a large soup pot and turn heat to medium-high or high. Cover and let cook for around ten minutes, until the onions have softened and the water has evaporated.

Uncover and turn heat to low. Let the onions caramelize for around an hour, stirring every five minutes or so. As I write this, the onions have been doing their thing for 40 minutes. They are soft but not brown. They’d better get to browning!

Update: Onions have shrunk in size considerably. And I broke one of my lightbulbs while setting up the lightbox.

Not a golden colour at one hour. Turning up the heat to medium and watching carefully!

Cat has entered the lightbox. Does not bode well for the food that will soon be in there.

I don’t know why I am live blogging this. Sorry.

Screw it. Onions aren’t dark brown.

Add the brandy, bouillon cubes, water, Bragg’s and thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer uncovered for fifteen minutes.

Turn on broiler and cut bread to fit your bowl. Toast it.

Ladle soup into oven-safe bowls and top with toast. Sprinkle with as much Daiya as your heart desires.

Broil until Daiya is melted.

Eat.

Melty, bread-y, oniony, kind of boozy. French? Je n'ai aucune idée.

Serves 4. While very tasty, I would not recommend this as a weekday soup, as it takes awhile to caramelize the onions. Make it on the weekend unless you like eating at 9:30 pm. 

Carrot Yam Ginger aka Sneaky Bean Soup

Sunshine in a bowl! Enjoy with a mug of green tea. (Photo and food styling by Papa)

I have one of those faces that, when resting, prompts people to emphatically ask “What’s wrong?” So, sometimes I walk around smiling to prevent that.

Anyway. This has been an awkward introduction to a new soup recipe! What I’m trying to say is that sometimes when I am wandering around grinning stupidly, I am actually making up soups in my head. I thought about this one for a few days before I made it. I have read a lot of stuff about ‘super’ and anti-inflammatory foods and such, and I was trying to keep cancer-fighting and preventing ingredients in mind. Good things like garlic, ginger, onion and turmeric.

Now, I hesitate to quote stuff from the internet, so I looked to Dr. Andrew Weil’s website to make sure my hunches were true. He has written many books, after all, and he’s not some yahoo, like yours truly, that just tells you things are healthy without any evidence to back it up.

So, here’s a quote from oncologist Donald I. Abrams found in the “Cancer” section of the website: “I […] recommend seasoning food with ginger, garlic, onions, turmeric, [and] drinking green tea, all of which have anti-inflammatory effects.” The gospel truth right there for you.

This soup, a yummy and vitamin-packed vehicle for aforementioned cancer fighters, also makes good use of carrots, a yam, coconut milk and a sneaky can of white beans. Brightly coloured orange (and green) veggies pack a nutritional punch (ugh, what a cliché, sorry) and the beans add some bulk and much-needed fibre. And the coconut milk? Well, y’all know I add that shit to everything!

All that was a long-winded way of saying that I tried to cram a lot of anti-inflammatory veggies, fibre, and healthy fat into one good-tasting soup that would be easy to eat. Mission accomplished.

But don’t take my word for it! Here is mi padre:

A big pot of this soup has made dark days spent rattling around an existential wilderness remarkably bearable. This cancer has stolen my appetite. We all have our own special relationships with food. For me the most perfect comfort foods are soups and stews.

This week’s soup recipe is pure liquid sunshine, flavourfully loaded, and just textured enough to reveal in a subtly honest manner the nature of its health giving materials. Very yummy!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large white onion, diced

5 carrots, diced

1 largish yam, peeled and cubed

A 2″ piece of ginger, grated (I sort of wish I had added more)

2 very large (or 4 normal) cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp Herbamare (or regular salt)

8 cups water

1 19 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 can full-fat coconut milk

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium to medium-low heat. Add onions and cook until slightly softened.

Add carrots, yam, ginger, turmeric and garlic. Cook until veggies have softened a bit, around fifteen minutes.

Add water, salt and beans. Cover and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer until all the vegetables are completely soft.

Take pot off the heat and blend soup with a hand blender until completely smooth. Warning: I stained my dad’s partner’s white blender doing this. Sorry, Tracy. Turmeric is crazy yellow!

Taste for salt. I added quite a lot more, but didn’t measure.

Stir in coconut milk.

Bask in the deliciousness.

Makes a large pot of soup.

Lentil Soup and New Beginnings

I would have called this 'Lentil Slop,' but who would want to eat that? Me, that's who.

I’ve been alluding to new beginnings for a couple posts now, and I’ll make good on it, I swear!

I made this lentil soup because I thought it would be healing. My father has been diagnosed with cancer and my first instinct was to cook. I find it therapeutic most of the time (ie. when I’m not under pressure to get dinner on the table!) and as soon as I found out, I started frying up some onions and envisioning healthy, hearty and anti-inflammatory things. I do believe that food can heal, or at least help keep one strong along the journey. It’s a practical way to cope with the curveball that’s been thrown at us. The unfortunate thing is that almost everyone is thrown this same unwelcome curveball at some point.

The result is this savoury mush. It’s meant to be a lentil soup, really. Something I thought would be easy and palatable. Something I could cook and share with Papa. Something that would heal.

With that in mind, I am planning to use this space to create cancer fighting and immune system boosting recipes that will benefit everyone, really. Who couldn’t use a little more kale and beets in their life? And in their smoothies. Yes.

And, with that, here’s something from my dad:

Hello dear readers. My name is Michael. My daughter Maya is the brilliance behind this delectable online resource, The Keen Kitchen. The blog began as a way to share unique, delicious and nutritional recipes for those of us who face or have loved ones who face health challenges. I spent my career as a communicator with writing as a core tool in my bag of tricks. I tried to counsel my kids to run away from anything that even had the faintest whiff of writing about it.  Oh why didn’t they just listen and take on a satisfying career as a medical diagnostician? (I know, right?) You know the drill… Good money, flexible hours, travel the world one clinic at a time.

Well here we are now. You must agree that Maya is a first-class communicator and the medium she has chosen, healthy recipes for those who need to be a bit more creative with their ingredients, is of universal value.

Last week I was diagnosed with cancer. Not good.  It looks like I’m on a faster track to enlightenment than I had imagined a week ago. I’m about to be medicalized. My natural default is optimism so I’m going to nurture that. I’ve also been advised to try to stay as physically strong as possible. That’s where this little venture comes in to play. Maya will add immune boosting recipes into the mix here at The Keen Kitchen. Food is love! I hear there will be a kale smoothie in my future? (Yep. There will.) Let’s spread a lot of that good stuff around to those, who may like me, be facing health challenges.

So stay tuned. Check out Maya’s recipe for lentil soup. I’ve always loved lentil soup in all of its permutations. This one is particularly tasty. It’s substantial, bursting with textures, exudes an oddly meaty meatlessness. Try it at home and you’ll find that it fills in the gaps in the gut in a most pleasant way.

Another gratuitous mush shot. Delicious mush.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large white onion, diced

3 tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups dried green lentils, rinsed

9 cups water (or more if you want a thinner consistency. Start with 9.)

2 cups cooked brown rice

1/2 a head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 tbsp tahini

juice of 1 lemon

Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium or medium-low heat.

Fry onion for about 15 minutes until softened.

Add salt, bouillon powder and cumin and stir until fragrant.

Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add lentils and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat low and simmer for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook a pot of brown rice.

After 45 minutes of simmering, use an immersion blender and blend slightly to add a little creaminess.

Add cauliflower and simmer another 15-20 minutes.

Stir in tahini, lemon juice and cooked rice.

Add freshly ground pepper.

Eat and be merry!

Makes a large pot of soup. Serve with a slice of lemon if you like. Add more water if you want a soupier soup!

Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

Vegan spinach artichoke dip and friends (rice crackers and a really yummy beet dip)

In my last post, I claimed that my recipes were going to be healthier, with more of a focus on whole grains, fruits ands vegetables. Still true, I swear! This is a recipe I meant to post a couple weeks ago but never got around to.

I never used to like spinach dip very much because I’ve always had an aversion to mayonnaise. When I was kid, I’d freak out if someone left an open jar on the counter because the smell made me queasy. Yep, it was a pretty intense hatred. As I got older, I slowly started to tolerate mayo in the form of aioli. For some reason, if it was flavoured and not thick and white, I would eat it in small doses.

So, needless to say, I absolutely hated spinach dip with its gobs of the nasty white stuff. Over the Christmas holidays I got a weird craving for spinach dip and decided to make a double batch of it. I took it to a couple holiday gatherings to be sure I’d have something to eat. It ain’t health food, but it certainly is lighter than its mayo-ridden counterpart, thanks to a good dose of white beans!

Without further ado, here’s my vegan take on the ubiquitous potluck hit.

This would be gross if there was mayo in it.

 

Put into a food processor and process until very smooth:

1 19 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed (I used kidney)

1 tub Tofutti vegan cream cheese

juice of one lemon

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne

a few dashes of Tobasco (I added maybe 6? I like a kick.)

a generous amount of freshly ground pepper

Add in and pulse until combined:

1 227g can sliced water chestnuts, drained

2 green onions, sliced

1 box frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out

1 14 oz can whole artichokes, drained

That’s it, that’s all! Serve with accoutrement of choice.

 

Vegan Gluten-Free Eggnog Cupcakes

Better late than never?

 

I do apologize for the tardiness of this post, fellow Keeners, as the holiday season is drawing to a close and I’m not sure people still have the need for an eggnog cupcake post. But, gosh, these were tasty little morsels of holiday cheer, so I’m posting the recipe anyway!

Christmas was the usual whirlwind and I’ll spare the gory details but, suffice it to say, I spent Boxing Day curled up on the couch in my pyjamas with my kitty cat, officially christmassed out.

I’d like to think of this post as a last hurrah, as it is New Year’s Day and the usual No more sugar! No more flour! thoughts are swirling in my head. I’m feeling inspired by this post on FatFree Vegan Kitchen. The meal plan Susan proposes kind of resembles how I used to eat and I remember how good it felt to eat a diet of mostly fruits and vegetables, whole grains and beans. So, just putting it out there that there may be a few changes afoot. Nothing crazy, just maybe less baked goods.

With that said, let’s talk about cupcakes! I used Karina’s vanilla cupcake as a base for these because, as I can’t stop saying, she is the vegan and  gluten-free baking goddess. I eggnog-ized them by adding nutmeg, cinnamon and soy nog. I decided a cream cheese icing would be best (when isn’t it the best, really?) and made it eggnoggy with the aforementioned spices.

These cupcakes were enjoyed on Christmas Eve with coffee and brandy and good company.

Happy New Year, everyone!

A spiced eggnog cake adorned with cream cheese icing: a delicious last hurrah

* Recipe taken from Gluten-Free Goddess and tweaked slightly. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1 cup tapioca starch

1 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup soy nog

2 eggs worth of vegan egg replacer (or 2 eggs) (Follow package directions for egg replacer to water ratio)

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line a 12-cup muffin tin with cute paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.

In a large measuring cup, whisk together all wet ingredients, except for the egg replacer. Whisk the egg replacer in a separate bowl or measuring cup, then mix it in with the rest of the wet ingredients.

Add wet to dry and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, being careful not to over mix.

Evenly divide batter into the muffin tin and bake for 15 to 22 minutes, testing after 15 with a toothpick.

Let cool in tin for a few minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a wire rack.

Cool completely before icing.

Icing Ingredients:

4 oz (half a tub)  Tofutti cream cheese (vegan)

1/4 cup vegan margarine

1 tsp vanilla

splash soy nog

2 cups icing sugar (not sure if this is officially vegan, guys)

2 dashes cinnamon

2 dashes nutmeg

Directions:

Cream together margarine and cream cheese with an electric mixer. Add vanilla, soy nog, cinnamon and nutmeg, mixing until combined.

Beat in icing sugar, 1 cup at a time.

Taste for spice and add more cinnamon and nutmeg as desired.

Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon.

Yum.

 

 

Tomato Garlic Chickpea Soup

Garlic soup for the vegan soul.

You know that thing where you haven’t done the weekly grocery shop and you find yourself with a sparse crisper and you’re sick of seeking sustenance from a bag of Daiya and a couple corn tortillas?

Yes?

Can we be friends?

Because I seem to find myself in this predicament on a biweekly basis. Well, thank goodness for blogs, I tell you! And for stewy soupy concoctions.

The inspiration for this particular combination was equal parts bare fridge and a FatFree Vegan Kitchen recipe for White Bean and Garlic Stew. Since I modified it a fair amount, I’ll share my version. Also, we thought it was quite delicious, thanks to something I hadn’t tried before– adding an entire bulb of garlic to a normal-sized pot o’ soup.

Do it, people, just do it. As promised by Susan, the whole cloves of peeled garlic become very mellow and yummy, just like when garlic is roasted. The garlic really gave the soup a richness and depth that made it addictive and seconds-worthy.

Vampire proof.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large white onion, diced

1 bulb garlic (about 15-20 cloves) peeled

2 large carrots, sliced

1 small zucchini, chopped

2 cups water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vegetable bouillon

freshly ground pepper

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, juice left in

1 19-oz can chickpeas. drained and rinsed

Directions:

In a soup pot, heat olive oil on medium heat.

Sauté onions for 5 minutes.

Add carrots, zucchini and garlic cloves and sauté another few minutes.

Add water, salt, bouillon, bay leaves, chickpeas, and tomatoes. Cover, lower heat and simmer for an hour, stirring and adding more water and adjusting salt if you want it soupier.

Serve with freshly ground pepper.

Savour the delicious garlic cloves and share some with your nearest and dearest.

Serves 5-6.

And now, just ’cause, a pretty little ditty by some nice young British boys: