Coleslaw with Poppy Seed Dressing

Yesterday I was in the mood for coleslaw for lunch. I didn't want to use the herbed dressing I made recently or the more exotic coconut-ginger or sesame orange dressings I've used in the past. I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but I wanted it to be different. Then I remembered a recipe that Bryanna, author of several of my favorite cookbooks, posted a few days ago on her blog, and I thought it'd be perfect. And it was!

I combined shredded cabbage with packaged broccoli slaw; then I whipped up a batch of Low-Fat Poppy Seed Dressing. I followed Bryanna's recipe as written, with one small change: I used only 2 tablespoons of maple syrup instead of 6. I also used her suggestion to add a little lemon zest. The result was a delicious, creamy dressing that tasted lovely on coleslaw, and I have plenty left-over to use on other salads.

Thanks, Bryanna, for another outstanding recipe!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Lentils and Rice

For months I've been meaning to make stuffed grape leaves; it's been in the back of my mind ever since I saw Miriam's wonderful looking ones on Knocked Up Vegan; then Leslie posted her own delicious creations on her blog. If I'd made them then, it'd have looked like I was copying! So, I waited a respectable length of time and, inspired by Brendon's Great Lentil Challenge, finally got down to work and made them this weekend.

I had never made stuffed grape leaves before, and what I do when I'm making something for the first time is research, research, research, let the research settle into my brain, and then do whatever the hell I want, hoping that the research will keep me out of too much trouble. I checked a few blogs (like this one and this one) to make sure I understood the rolling technique and the important physics behind grape leaves--rice swells as it cooks, so don't roll them too tightly or it'll burst right through the leaf--and then I decided what I wanted to put into my leaves and got to work.

And it is a lot of work! I sat down at the kitchen table at around 4:30 to begin rolling, but my rolls weren't ready to go onto the stove until 6:00. Of course, I did pause often to take the photos that you'll see below. But be warned that rolling the leaves, while not difficult, is time consuming. That's to be expected for a recipe that makes 45-50 stuffed grape leaves.

One thing nobody on any blog or any cookbook told me: how to get the leaves out of the jar without tearing them the #&%$ up! I finally resorted to working them part way out of the jar and then grabbing them firmly in one hand and rocking them back and forth, inserting a finger every now and then to let a little air in and break the vacuum. It took a while, but most of them were usable.



Grape Leaves Stuffed with Lentils and Rice

1 large onion
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped parsley (measured after chopping)
1/2 cup minced mint (measured after mincing)
1/2 cup finely minced green onions
1 cup diced tomatoes (canned, drained of juice)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garam masala or blend of coriander, cumin, cloves, cinnamon
1 1/4 cups of medium or short-grain brown rice
3/4 cup brown lentils, rinsed and checked for impurities
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1-lb jar grape leaves
4-5 red potatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 lemon, sliced

Mix together all ingredients except the grape leaves, potatoes, and lemon slices. Drain the liquid out of the jar of grape leaves, and get the leaves out of the jar in whatever way you can. (If you're not going to make a whole recipe, save the brine and put the leftover leaves back into it.) Wash them well, and set aside any that have holes in them (don't throw them away).

To begin rolling the leaves, place a leaf with the veiny part facing up, the shiny side down. Cut off the stem. Place about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the rice mixture in a horizontal line just above the cut stem:



Fold the two bottom sections of the leaf over the filling:



Then fold the sides in:



Roll the bottom of the leaf up, tucking in the sides as you go. You want this to be fairly tight, but not too tight. But if you have to err, err on the side of tightness. You don't want any gaps or exposed filling, or it will all boil out when cooking. A finished roll looks like this:



Pour yourself a glass of wine, and do this 44 more times, until you run out of filling. If, for some reason, you run out of leaves first, save the filling and cook it with about double its amount of water. (I had leaves left over, not filling.) When you accidentally tear a leaf, wipe it off and set it aside.

When you're finished, prepare a large sauce pan or Dutch oven by spraying or wiping it with olive oil. Line the bottom with the potato slices (these will keep the delicate grape leaves off of the direct heat).



On top of the potatoes, put a layer of the imperfect leaves that you had set aside. And then arrange your stuffed grape leaves, snuggly. Try to fit them so that there isn't any space between them. When you've fit them all in, put the lemon slices on top:



Gently add water until it reaches about the middle of the top row of grape leaves, and cover the whole thing with more empty grape leaves. Place a heavy plate (I used two, one on top of the other) on top of the grape leaves to weigh them down. Cover the pot tightly, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it boils, turn it down to very low and cook for an hour and 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let the stuffed leaves rest undisturbed in the pan for 20 more minutes.

Serve them (and the potatoes) with the dipping sauce of your choice. I would have liked to make a soy yogurt sauce, but I was all out of homemade yogurt (and the "plain" they sell in the store is actually sweetened) so i made a sort of sweet and sour sauce:



To make the sauce I mixed 2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses, 1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon chopped garlic. It was more sour than sweet, so adjust the proportions to fit your taste.

We will be eating grape leaves for quite a while. Does anyone know if these things freeze?

This recipe is respectfully submitted to Brendon for his Great Lentil Challenge. Check out all the other delicious recipes he's got going on his blog.

5/30 edited to add: I just made a Tofu-Yogurt Dipping Sauce that was very good with these. I mixed the following in the blender:

1/3 box (about 4 ounces) silken tofu
1 tbsp. soymilk
1 tbsp lemon juice
pinch dill weed
1/4 tsp. salt (to taste)

Poured it into a bowl and added about 1/3 cup of finely diced, de-seeded cucumber. Refrigerated until chilled. It tastes remarkably like soy yogurt, without the sweetness that some brands have.


Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Great Lentil Challenge

Cherry Date-Nut Balls

This is one of my family's favorite snacks, based on Dr. Fuhrman's Pop-Em's . I love serving treats that are full of healthy fats and contain no refined sugar, and my daughter eats them like candy. We make several variations, but the cherry ones are my personal favorite.

I rolled half in coconut flakes, just to give them a slightly different flavor.

Cherry Date-Nut Balls

3/4 cup nuts (almonds and walnuts)
1 tbsp. ground flax seeds
4 large Medjool dates, pitted (about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup dried cherries
flaked coconut (optional)

Grind the nuts in a food processor until they are coarsely chopped. Add the flax seeds, and pulse to incorporate. Add the dates and cherries, and process until everything is completely chopped and combined. Pinch a little of the mixture together to see if it sticks together or falls apart. If it's too sticky, add more nuts. If it won't form a ball, add more dates or cherries.

Form into balls about the width of a quarter. If you want, you can roll them in coconut that has been powdered (as much as possible) in the food processor. Makes about 16.

You can store these (if you can resist eating them) at room temperature for a couple of days or in the refrigerator for a week or more. For more variations, check out the original recipe.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Green Olive Hummus

If you are beginning to think my family lives on hummus, you're very close to being right. We use hummus for just about everything around here: a snack with veggies and crackers, a salad topping, a sandwich filling, and dinner with pitas, tabouli, and other Middle Eastern dishes. We love hummus.

We also love olives: Kalamata olives, green olives, and those jumbo black olives that my husband swears have no taste (but E. and I love them anyway). So you won't be surprised to hear that green olive hummus is our very favorite type of hummus. I don't make it often, because olives are high in sodium, but when I do, it doesn't last very long. This recipe uses less tahini because the olives contain fat and cuts down on the spices so that the olives carry the flavor. If you like olives as much as we do, you'll love this hummus!

Green Olive Hummus
(makes about 4 cups)

3 large cloves garlic
2 cans (or 3 cups) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup green olives (stuffed with pimentos)
1 tablespoon tahini
1/4 tsp. sumac
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt, to taste
5-6 more olives

Chop the garlic in the food processor. Add the chickpeas and lemon juice, and coarsely chop. (If more liquid is needed to get the blades moving, add a tablespoon or two of water or vegetable broth.) Add the green olives, tahini, and seasonings, and process until everything is mixed. (This will not be a smooth type of hummus, but all ingredients should be well-distributed.) Taste for saltiness, and add salt if needed (the olives make it pretty salty already.) Process to blend in the salt, and then add the remaining olives. Pulse a few times just to barely chop the olives. Serve with crackers, pita bread, or crudités as desired.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Lagniappe*

I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately and if you've emailed me, I apologize for taking so long to reply. It's been a very busy week here--the last week of school, and my daughter is "graduating" from third grade. On top of that, I've been having some back trouble that's making it hard for me to sit at a computer or stand in a kitchen, two activities that are essential if you write about what you cook. I'm doing my back exercises, though, and I hope to be back on my feet soon.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post some of the photos I've taken but not written about:

This is a jelled dessert I made using tea and agar. I used pomegranate tea mixed with the juice from a can of mandarin oranges to form two cups of liquid, mixed it with one teaspoon of agar powder, and cooked it until the agar dissolved. Then I poured it over the mandarin oranges in individual glasses. Simple and refreshing!

Last Sunday, my daughter E. decided to make pancakes all by herself. She found a recipe in Kids Can Cook Vegetarian Recipes and added cinnamon and bananas to it. She also insisted on taking all the photos and even choosing the plate and the background. She couldn't keep me from taking at least one photo of the happy chef herself:

The pancakes were great, but they did have a LOT of cinnamon. I think she's going to be a "throw it in until it looks right" cook like her mom!

This is a pasta dish I made for my parents when they were here a few weeks ago. It's based on this recipe for Rotelle With Asparagus and Mushroom Sauce, but I browned a little of those Morningstar Farms fake chicken strips and added them along with some pinenuts and a touch more olive oil. It wasn't fat-free, but it was delicious.

Here are some sausages I made from okara the last time I made soymilk. (Okara is the pulp you have left over after you've strained the soymilk.) They were okay, but I wanted to tinker with the recipe some more before I publish it. I served the sausage with some fries that I made with the thicker julienne blade on my mandoline. I just sprayed my non-stick skillet with a little canola oil and browned the fries a little before covering the skillet and letting them steam until they were cooked. Then I sprinkled them with spicy creole seasoning. Yum!

I'll be back when I can with more recipes, and until then, I hope you've enjoyed these photos.

*In southern Louisiana, we call a little something extra "lagniappe," such as when you buy a dozen beignets (doughnuts) and the baker throws in a extra one for free. Like my last name, it is pronounced just like it looks. Okay, not really! It's "lan-yap," rhymes with man cap.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Asparagus with Roasted Garlic Sauce

In my opinion, roasted garlic is one of those miraculous foods that make almost anything taste decadent. Not that asparagus needs much help; it's a miracle food in its own right and doesn't need gaudy embellishments, so a tangy hint of lemon combined with the mellow taste of roasted garlic is really the perfect complement for crisp yet tender spears of asparagus.

Roasting garlic mellows the flavor, so if you're not a fresh garlic fan, you may discover you like the taste of roasted garlic. If you've never roasted garlic before, you'll be surprised at how easy it is. I find that a toaster oven works beautifully without heating up the entire kitchen. Start with a head or two of garlic. Use a sharp knife to cut about 1/2 inch off the top (pointy end) of the head. Place it cut-side up in a oven-proof dish about the same size as the garlic:

Brush or spray the cut surface with a little olive oil, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper, if you want. Cover it tightly with foil, and place it in a 400F oven. Bake it for 30 minutes, remove the cover, and bake for about 15 more--you will see the cloves begin to rise out of their paper a little. Allow it to cool, and squeeze, scrape, peel, or otherwise coax the roasted garlic out of the skin. You're now ready to use it in a recipe or just spread it on a slice of good, toasted bread. Mmmmm. (Sorry, it's that good!)

Asparagus with Roasted Garlic Sauce

1/2 head roasted garlic
1/4 cup walnuts
juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp. water
salt to taste
1 pound asparagus

Lightly toast the walnuts. The easiest way to do this is to put them in the oven with the garlic during the last 5 minutes that it's roasting. When they're hot but not burning, remove them from the oven and grind them in a food processor (or mash them to a paste in a mortar and pestle). Add half a head of roasted garlic, the lemon juice, and the water and continue to puree. Add salt to taste.

Prepare the asparagus by snapping off the tough ends (just hold a spear at the bottom and in the middle, and it should snap off in the right spot). Steam them lightly for 3 minutes or until they are bright green and just starting to become tender. Place them in a serving dish, and toss them with the roasted garlic sauce. Serve, trying not to fight over the last spear on the plate!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Roasted Asparagus and Portabella Mushrooms with Horseradish Sauce

Finding prepared horseradish can be tough for a vegan. All too often, the brands I find in the grocery store are mayonnaise-based. Every now and then I'm able to find a jar that is just horseradish and vinegar, but once that jar runs out, I risk not being able to find it again.

So I was thrilled to notice horseradish root in the produce section of my supermarket. I chose the one that seemed the freshest--some were getting soft, so I skipped those--and brought it home to experiment with. This recipe is the result of my first experiment. In it, the horseradish is barely discernible. It turns out that cooking horseradish reduces its "heat" considerably; it also turns out that if you want to keep horseradish spicy after you've pureed it, you need to add vinegar to stop the flavor from escaping. So, if you want a horseradish sauce with more kick to it, add the fresh horseradish at the end (and taste as you add) or add a little vinegar to the horseradish before you put it in the sauce. But, if you want a sauce with only a hint of horseradish and no fire, this one's for you!



Roasted Asparagus and Portabella Mushrooms with Horseradish Sauce

1 pound asparagus, trimmed
2 large portabella mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup plain soymilk
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. pureed fresh horseradish (or prepared horseradish to taste)
1 tsp. dried basil
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp. water

Note: Be careful pureeing the horseradish because the fumes can be overpowering. If you use a food processor, turn your head away as you remove the top after processing.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the asparagus and mushrooms in a large, oiled baking dish and sprinkle with 2 cloves garlic. Roast, stirring every 5 minutes, for 10-15 minutes, until asparagus are just starting to brown. Remove to a serving dish.

While the vegetables are roasting, make the sauce: Heat the soymilk in a saucepan and add the 1 tsp. garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, horseradish, basil, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until mixture boils. Add the cornstarch/water mixture, and stir until thickened. Pour over asparagus and mushrooms to serve.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Artichoke and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

The photo above is of my dinner last night. You see, last night was the final day of a 5-day challenge I created for myself. For five days I gave up beans, grains, and most starchy vegetables and concentrated on eating more fruits and non-starchy vegetables. Why? Partly because I'd been relying on beans and grains a bit too much lately and I needed a culinary challenge. But mostly because I've been eating a bit too much of everything lately, and I needed to take a few days and "detox," for lack of a better word--to get the heavy foods out of my system and re-set my taste-buds to lighter fare.

Did it work? I'd say yes. I certainly felt challenged in the kitchen, perhaps too much so. (Last night's dinner was a result of that; more on that in a minute.) And after a few days of mainly fruits and veggies, I feel lighter and more energetic, and the cravings I'd had for refined carbs and desserts have pretty much disappeared. I feel confident that I can add back the beans and grains in moderate amounts without going crazy and grabbing the nearest vegan doughnut!

But by the end of the week, I was flagging creatively. Last night I just didn't have the desire to go to the kitchen and try to whip plain vegetables into something I could make myself believe was a main dish. In fact, I didn't feel like turning on the stove at all. So I didn't. I decided to make myself an easy dip of artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers, chop some raw veggies, and make that my dinner while the husband and daughter cracked open a box of Boca burgers for themselves. The dip turned out to be something that I'm going to be making regularly from now on--it was flavorful and filling and (WARNING) extremely spicy with two cloves of garlic. In the future I'll tone down the garlic but keep the rest of this tasty recipe.



Artichoke Hearts and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

1 14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 cup roasted red peppers (from a jar)
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (these get very strong, so I advise moderation)
1 tbsp. tahini
1/8 tbsp. white pepper
salt to taste

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Serve as a dip for fresh vegetables (baby carrots, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.) or pita bread.

PS--I didn't actually eat all of the food you see in the first photo! My husband was happy to polish off what I couldn't finish, and E. helped with the Kalamata olives.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Strawberry-Banana Sorbet

I've been whipping up frozen desserts ever since I got my first Cuisinart food processor 22 years ago. Back then, the instructions in the owner's manual were to put frozen strawberries and a whole bunch of sugar into the processor and trickle in milk or cream as the processor worked. These days, I skip the sugar, add frozen bananas for creaminess and sweetness, and use just a little soymilk to get the right consistency. The result is absolutely delicious, even on an unseasonably cold evening in May.

I try to keep several different types of frozen fruit on-hand to make sorbets and smoothies. Frozen peaches and mangoes make wonderful sorbets and can be found in most supermarkets. Another favorite of mine is the "smoothie blend" combination of frozen fruit that includes mango, pineapple, and strawberries. You can also freeze canned pineapple and make an incredible sorbet using it alone or with bananas. It's so much fun to think of new combinations of this healthy and easy dessert.



Strawberry-Banana Sorbet

This makes about 3 large servings. Add an extra frozen banana or cup of fruit for each additional serving.

2 frozen bananas (peel ripe bananas and wrap with plastic wrap before freezing solid)
2 cups frozen strawberries (or fruit of choice)
non-dairy milk
sweetener of choice (liquid sweeteners, such as rice syrup or agave nectar, dissolve best)

Take the frozen bananas out of the freezer and break them into 3 or 4 pieces. Place them and the strawberries into the food processor and allow them to sit for about 10 minutes, to thaw only slightly.

Cover and start the food processor. (Don't be surprised when the processor bucks like an angry bull when the blade hits that frozen fruit!) With it running, add just a little bit of "milk" (you can also use water or juice here) to help the fruit blend smoothly. I recommend about 1/4 to 1/2 cup liquid for the amount of fruit used here. Stop the processor from time to time and scrape down the sides. Keep processing until the fruit is the smooth consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Add sweetener to taste (I use a little bit of stevia) and process briefly one more time.

Serve immediately. Or you can put the whole processor into the freezer until you're ready to eat and give it another blending right before serving. The sorbet can also be stored in a plastic container for up to a few days and re-processed to soften.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Zucchini Spirals with Fresh Vegetable Sauce

I love fresh tomato sauce with vine-ripened tomatoes that are cooked for only a short time. But, until the tomatoes in my garden ripen, I'll make do with canned. My favorite canned tomatoes are Muir Glen Fire-Roasted, the sweetest canned tomatoes I've found. They're more expensive than the store brand, but when you're cooking something that's centered around tomatoes, you want them to be as tasty as possible.

This pasta sauce is chock-full of vegetables. I start with eggplant and add summer squash and two colors of bell pepper. Since I planned to serve this over zucchini, I used yellow summer squash in the sauce, but zucchini will work equally well, and other vegetables, such as cauliflower or carrots, can be used instead of eggplant. Figure on using about 2 to 3 pounds of vegetables and get as creative as you want!

Zucchini Spirals with Fresh Vegetable Sauce

1 large eggplant
1 onion, diced
2 yellow summer squashes, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes (fire-roasted preferred)
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh basil (reserve a little for garnish) OR 1 tbsp. dried

Peel the eggplant and cut it into 1/2-inch slices. Lay the slices in a large colander in a single layer, and lightly salt them. Turn them over and salt the other side. Set the colander on a plate, and set aside for about half an hour. This will draw bitterness from the eggplant. (You may skip this step if you don't find eggplant bitter.) After half an hour, rinse the eggplant and chop it into 1/2-inch cubes.

Heat a large non-stick saucepan, and add the onion and 2 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring, until the onion begins to brown, and then add the eggplant and a little more water. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, until the eggplant is mostly cooked. Add the squash, bell peppers, and garlic, and continue to cook and stir for 3 more minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients, except for fresh basil. Cover and cook on low until all the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Add the basil and cook for a couple more minutes. Serve over zucchini "pasta" or whole wheat rotini.

To make zucchini pasta: I use a handy spiral slicer called a Spirooli, which I was lucky to find at a close-out store for next to nothing. A mandolin slicer with a julienne blade will also produce long strands of zucchini "noodles," and if nothing else is available, a sharp knife and a lot of patience also works. I use about 1 medium raw zucchini per person. After it's shredded, I simply put the zucchini on a plate and put the sauce on top. The heat from the sauce warms and softens the zucchini slightly and makes a good substitute for people limiting their consumption of refined flours. And here's a mom tip: Kids love these long strands of zucchini; it's a great way to get some raw veggies into them.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Brussels Sprouts Go Asian

Here's a different way to use fresh Brussels sprouts. It's tasty and can be served over rice or pasta as a main dish or alone as a side dish. It comes together in minutes, too!



Brussels Sprouts Stir-Fry

1 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and halved
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
3-4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 15-ounce can baby corn, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp. mirin (sweetened rice wine)
1-2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. seasoned rice wine vinegar (or regular rice wine vinegar plus 1/2 tsp. sugar)

Spray or brush a non-stick wok or large skillet with a light coating of canola oil. Heat over medium-high heat, and add the garlic and green onions; stir and cook for one minute. Add the Brussels sprouts, turning them cut-side down. Cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.

Add the red bell pepper, mushrooms, and baby corn, and stir well. Add the water and mirin and cover tightly. Reduce the heat and cook until the Brussels sprouts are tender but not overdone, about 5 minutes. (Add a little more water if necessary.)

Remove the cover and add the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Cook and stir for about one minute. Add more soy sauce or rice wine vinegar to taste and serve hot.

Some of you may notice that this week I am lightening up my menus a good bit (yes, even "fat-free" vegan food can sometimes be heavy). While I need to lighten up my meals, my husband and daughter do not, so I've been making some adjustments to the dishes I serve them. For this dish, I added a little re-hydrated TVP (textured vegetable protein) to their stir-fry and served it over buckwheat soba noodles tossed with a little soy sauce and sesame oil. I served mine over shirataki noodles that were boiled for two minutes and then tossed with 1/8 tsp. of sesame oil.
They got a little extra protein and carbohydrates while I got a meal that was very light but delicious.

(This was the main course I served with yesterday's Carrot Stick Bundles.)

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Carrot Stick Bundles Tied with Seaweed

For the past week, I have been enthralled by Japanese Vegetarian Cooking by Patricia Richland. I resisted buying this book for a while because I already had The Art of Japanese Vegetarian Cooking and wasn't very happy with it. It made Japanese food look so difficult and time-consuming to make that I began to think that any Japanese cookbook would be the same. But Richland's book is completely different: The recipes are fairly simple, many requiring less than six ingredients, and they make good use of fresh vegetables. I keep going back through it and finding dishes I want to try, so you can expect to see many little Japanese vegetable dishes, such as this one, in the weeks to come.

Carrot Stick Bundles is a good example of the kind of simple vegetable side dish the book is full of. I actually tried to fancy this one up a little by adding ginger (I love the taste of ginger with carrots) but I don't think it added much, so feel free to leave it out.

Carrot Stick Bundles Tied with Seaweed

sheet of nori (seaweed)
3-4 large carrots
fresh ginger, cut into 4 thin, quarter-sized slices
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 tsp. sesame oil

Cut the nori into eight 1/2-inch strips and set aside.

Peel the carrots and cut them into matchsticks about 3-inches long. Combine the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, and mix to combine.

Heat the sesame oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, and stir-fry for about a minute. Add the carrot sticks and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Remove the ginger, and divide the carrots into 8 equal piles. Gather each pile into a bundle, arranging the carrot sticks side by side. Wrap a nori strip around the middle of each bundle. (I found it easiest to put the strip down on a plate, lay the carrot bundle near one end of the strip, tuck the end of the strip over the bundle, and roll the carrots toward the other end.)

Place two bundles each on four serving plates, and serve drizzled with soy sauce or sesame oil.

I'll admit that bundling the carrot sticks was trickier than I thought it'd be; my sticks were more slender than they should have been, so they turned out a little on the limp side. I used a mandolin to make them uniform, but they would have probably come out better if I had cut them with a knife. What I think I'll do next time (and these were tasty, so there will be a next time) is skip the bundling and make little carrot "haystacks" with the nori cut fine and sprinkled on top. Unless I'm having company I want to impress!

Kid-Friendly Note: My daughter, who usually prefers her carrots raw, ate 3 of these and would have eaten more if we'd had any.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Two Easy Dishes

Mother's Day 2006

Happy day to all you mothers! I'm having a good one myself. First, my wonderful family gave me a copy of The Candle Cafe Cookbook, which looks like it will be a great source of inspiration, the newest Pearl Jam CD, which is playing as I type, and a cute card that my daughter picked out herself at PetSmart. Then my husband made breakfast: Scrambled tofu from Vegan with a Vengeance, wrapped in tortillas and served with guacamole, with spicy hash browns on the side. It was great!

With all the kitchen duties being handled by the husband, I've had a little time to write up last night's meal, which was simple but good. I used the rice cooker to make Brown and Wild Rice with Asparagus, a dish that practically cooks itself, and I freshened up a can of cannellini beans by adding fresh herbs for a simple side dish. And you know what? It was that simple bean dish that everyone wanted more of. Fresh herbs can really work wonders, even on canned beans.

Brown and Wild Rice with Asparagus

1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup wild rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sliced almonds, crushed
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp. lemon juice
additional sliced almonds for garnish

Put the brown and wild rices, water, salt, and crushed almonds into the rice cooker. Cook until the cooker turns from cook to warm. Add the asparagus on top of the rice, pour in the vegetable broth, cover and re-set to "cook." Cook until the asparagus is tender but not overcooked. Remove from rice cooker and toss gently with lemon juice. Garnish with more almonds

Cannellini Beans with Fresh Basil and Oregano

1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
olive oil spray
1 19-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Sauté the onion and garlic in a pan lightly sprayed or brushed with olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until liquid is reduced somewhat, about 6 minutes. Serve warm.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Chocolate a l'Orange Mousse Pie

Special Mothers' Day Fat-Full Edition!

Even vegans watching their diets deserve some chocolate decadence every now and then--and this goes doubly for mothers. Most of us watch not only our own diets but also our children's and significant others'. So I say, give your mom or your children's mom or your partner's mom or your pets' mom a treat this year. Surprise her with a chocolate pie so dense with luscious chocolate that she'll never believe it's vegan. But it is.

Chocolate a l'Orange Mousse Pie

1 12-ounce package of firm silken tofu
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy-free kind)
3 tablespoons orange liquor
1 tablespoon agave nectar or maple syrup
prepared graham cracker crust
sliced almonds and grated orange peel for garnish

Blend tofu, orange liquor, and agave nectar or syrup in food processor (or blender) just until smooth. Melt chocolate chips over double boiler. Put chocolate into processor and mix with tofu until creamy. Pour into a graham cracker crust. Chill. Top with sliced almonds and orange peel. Serve to a mom and watch her smile!

Caveat: If the mom is seriously watching her diet, it's best to check with her first to see how she feels about an occasional treat. If she doesn't want the added fat and sugar of this dessert, consider making her a fat-free one. A few of my favorites are Chocolate Pudding Cake, Fatfree and Fabulous Fudgy Brownies, Applesauce Cake, and Upside-Down Peach Amaretto Cake. Or for a delicious dessert with no fat or added sugar, whip up a batch of Banana "Ice Cream." She'll appreciate the thought and time you put into creating something with her tastes and needs in mind.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food

Almost-Instant Hummus Ghanoush

I had a sudden craving for baba ghanoush, but it was much too late to roast an eggplant. So I decided on an unorthodox method of cooking it, in the pressure cooker. Within about 5 minutes, I had completely cooked eggplant and also a problem: The eggplant was hot, and whoever heard of eating hot baba ghanoush? I needed to add something to cool it off, so midway through I decided to combine my Baba Ghanouj recipe with my basic hummus recipe, and the result was . . . great! Even E., who doesn't like baba ghanoush, liked it. Apparently, hummus with eggplant in it is acceptable even to eggplant-haters. Who knew?

Since roasting gives eggplant a lot of flavor, I suggest roasting or grilling it if you have the time. If you cook your eggplant in a less flavorful way like I did, you may want to add a little Liquid Smoke to give it a hint of smoky flavor.

Almost-Instant Hummus Ghanoush

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 4 quarters lengthwise
2-4 cloves garlic
1 15-ounce can chickpeas (1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp. Liquid Smoke flavoring (optional)
sumac, for garnish

To cook the eggplant in the pressure cooker, put the peeled, quartered eggplant in a steamer basket, place it in the cooker, and add just enough hot water to cover the bottom of the cooker but not so much that it touches the eggplant (about a cup or two). Seal the cooker, bring to high pressure, and cook for 2 minutes after it reaches high pressure. Use a quick-release method to reduce the pressure. (Follow the instructions here to cook the eggplant in the oven.)

Drop the garlic into a running food processor to chop it. Add the eggplant, and process until it is almost smooth. Add the remaining ingredients, and process until smooth. Check the seasonings, and add more as necessary. (If the eggplant seems bitter, a pinch or two of sugar helps.) Serve sprinkled with sumac.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food

Hot and Sour Shirataki Noodles with Tofu

I gave in and tried a fad-food. While shopping in the local Asian grocery store yesterday, I noticed shirataki noodles in the refrigerated section. They may have been there all along, but I noticed them only because I've been seeing them mentioned on the internet as the next diet wonderfood. In case you've missed all this, here's a definition from The Food Network:

Thin, translucent, gelatinous noodles made from the starch of a yamlike tuber known as Devil's Tongue. Shirataki, which are the shredded form of konnyaku, have no discernable taste but absorb the dominant flavors of the soup or dish to which they're added. They can be found both in dry and soft forms in Asian markets and some supermarkets. The word shirataki means "white waterfall," alluding to the appearance of these noodles.

Shirataki have become very popular with low-carb dieters because they contain almost no carbs or calories. There are basically two forms of them available, one just the plain noodles made of konnyaku and another that combines konnyaku and tofu and is available in different styles (fettucini or noodle, for example). Both are low in carbs, but the tofu version has added protein and a few more calories. (UPDATE: I've just learned that the tofu kind are not vegan because they contain calcium derived from shellfish.) The package I bought was the plain kind, packed in water, and the package indicated that for a 2.8 ounce serving, there were no calories and less than one gram of carbohydrate (though I fail to see how anyone could eat only 2.8 ounces and be satisfied).

When you open a package of shirataki, you may notice a characteristic (i.e. bad) smell. This smell disappears as long as you parboil the noodles before using them. I wasn't taking any chances, so I first rinsed the noodles and then boiled them in water to which I added soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil. They boiled for two minutes and sat in the cooking water until I was ready to add them to the recipe. (Unlike regular noodles, they don't get soggy from sitting in water too long.) I'm happy to report that they tasted fine--if you consider "fine" to be that they had no taste at all. But once I added them to the rest of the ingredients, they did pick up the hot and sour flavor of the dish, and we actually liked them very much.

NOTE: You can make this with regular thin noodles, such as buckwheat soba or angel hair pasta. Just make the noodles according to package directions and then add them at the end of the recipe.

Hot and Sour Shirataki Noodles with Tofu
(serves 2)

14-16 ounces shirataki noodles, packed in water (two 7 or 8 ounce packages)
2 cups water
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/8 tsp. sesame oil

8 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into cubes
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. sesame oil

1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. chopped garlic
4 finely chopped green onions
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. hot Chinese chili sauce (to taste)
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
shredded Napa Cabbage
chopped toasted peanuts

Drain and rinse the shirataki noodles and place them in a saucepan with the water, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Toss the tofu cubes with the 1 tbsp. soy sauce and 1/4 tsp. sesame oil and set aside while you heat an oiled non-stick skillet or wok. When the skillet is hot, lift the tofu from the marinade and pan-fry it until it is lightly brown on all sides. Remove it from the skillet and place it back in the bowl with the marinade. Stir gently, and set aside.

Add the remaining 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil to the pan. Over medium-high heat, stir fry the red pepper, garlic, green onions, and mushrooms until the mushrooms start to exude their juices. Add the lime juice, 3 tbsp. soy sauce, and sugar, and stir well. Continue stir-frying until the mixture boils.

Drain the noodles and add them to the pan, along with the tofu and its marinade. Toss well to mix. Serve on a bed of shredded cabbage and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

My husband and I really enjoyed this, but it was a little too hot and too sour for our daughter, so no kid-friendly label for this recipe, I'm afraid. It worked out well for us, though: Since this dish was our entire meal, dividing it into three servings would have left us all a little hungry, but this was just the right size for two adults with big appetites. I will definitely be using shirataki noodles again.

Update: Take a look at my other shirataki recipes: Shirataki Noodles with Tomato Pesto, Orange-Ginger Tofu on Shirataki Noodles, and Brussels Sprouts Go Asian.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free low-carb shirataki

Apple-Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

I apologize for not having updated the blog recently. My parents were here for an all-too-brief visit, so I didn't have much time for blogging. Though I'm sad to see my parents go, I am happy to get the chance to post the recipes I've made recently--before I completely forget them!

For Sunday morning breakfast, I made pancakes with a twist--or, rather, a swirl. This is my standard pancake recipe with chopped walnuts added to the batter and a touch of apple-cinnamon swirled onto the top. This recipe serves only 3 very hungry people, so consider doubling or tripling it if you're feeding a crowd.

Apple-Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

Pancake Batter:

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/3 cups almond milk or soymilk
• 1/2 tablespoon egg replacer powder* mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Cinnamon-Apple Swirl Batter:

• 2 tablespoons prepared batter (above)
• 2 tablespoons natural apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add almond (or soy) milk and egg replacer mixture and stir just until flour is moistened. (For thicker pancakes, use only 1 cup milk.) Let the batter rest for 5 minutes while the skillet heats.

While the batter is resting, combine all of the "swirl" ingredients, using 2 tablespoons of the prepared batter.

Heat a non-stick griddle or skillet (sprayed lightly with non-stick spray) over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles. Gently stir the walnuts into the batter. Pour batter by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle. Immediately drizzle the cinnamon-apple batter over the top of each pancake in a swirl pattern. Cook until tops are bubbly and bubbles burst; edges will look dry. With a pancake turner, turn and cook until undersides are golden. Place on a warm platter; keep warm.

Repeat until all batter is used, brushing griddle lightly with canola oil, if necessary, to prevent sticking. Serve pancakes with syrup or other topping as desired.

*I used Ener-G brand Egg Replacer but you can also use homemade.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Vegan Onigiri

On Saturday, I made Onigiri to go with the Cabbage Nori Rolls I served to my family and our young guest. Though the rolls didn't contain any rice, Onigiri are virtually all rice. They're made by simply cupping sticky, hot sushi rice in your hand and pressing it into a triangle or other shape around a filling. I filled the round ones you see on the right side above with dried shiitake mushrooms that were re-hydrated and marinated briefly in miso and sesame oil (2 tbsp. water. 1 tsp. light miso, 1/8 tsp. sesame oil), and then rolled them in black sesame seeds. The vaguely triangle-shaped ones contained pieces of baked tofu and are wrapped in a piece of nori (wet it first).

I don't have a real recipe for this but I do have some suggestions:

First, make sure your rice is very sticky. I cooked mine as I usually do for sushi, and it wasn't quite sticky enough. I suggest adding a little more water than the package indicates.

Second, keep your hands wet as you mold and press the rice together. Sticky rice is, you know, sticky: it will cling to your hands and prevent you from making smooth shapes, but the water will keep it from sticking to you.

Finally, use a strongly-flavored food as the filling. Traditionally, umeboshi plums are used, and they have a very strong taste. My shiitake mushroom filling tasted much better than the tofu filling, which got lost in the middle of all that rice.

You can get more directions (and photos) for making onigiri at this site. Have fun!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Cabbage Nori Rolls

Here's a recipe that proved to me that my daughter will eat anything wrapped in nori with baked tofu. Though the friend she invited to eat with us didn't care for them (she's not a fan of sushi either), E. couldn't get enough of these. She must have eaten 12 of them by herself. If she's eating cabbage, I'm a happy mom.

I don't follow a low-carb diet, but those who do will find these a good alternative to sushi. They're light but surprisingly filling.

Cabbage Nori Rolls
(serves about 4 as a side dish)

1/2 head Napa or Chinese cabbage
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
6-8 ounces baked tofu, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips
baby corn
4-5 sheets toasted nori
pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi, for serving

Cut the cabbage into half lengthwise. Cut one half into 4 wedges lengthwise. Place the wedges in a steamer basket with the carrots and steam until tender, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.

Once the cabbage has cooled, dry it thoroughly by placing it on a kitchen towel or sushi mat covered with paper towels. Roll up in the towel or mat, squeezing lightly to remove excess moisture. Remove any thick, tough pieces and set them aside.

Place a piece of nori on the sushi mat, and have a small bowl of water nearby. Lay a thin layer of cabbage starting about one inch from the bottom and stopping 2 inches from the top. Be sure the cabbage stretches to the side edges. Near the bottom end, lay a strip of tofu, carrots, and baby corn or any combination of the three.

Lift the mat at the edge closest to you and bring the bottom edge of the nori over the tofu and other fillings. Roll forward to tightly wrap the nori around the fillings. As you approach the far edge, dip your fingers into the bowl of water and use them to moisten the top inch. (This will help the nori to seal.) Complete the roll. Place it seam-side down on a cutting board. Repeat with remaining cabbage, and cut rolls into 6-8 pieces with a sharp knife. Serve with pickled ginger, soy sauce, and wasabi.

Credit for this idea goes to Vegetarian Asian, a book that's full of gorgeous photos and has some interesting ideas, but its writing is lacking (ingredients are listed but never used, recipes lack sufficient explanation.) It's essentially a slim coffee table book with recipes, but it's worth more than the $2 I paid for it just for some of the ideas.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free low-carb

Chipotle Chickpea Dip

I'd pretty much decided to leave yesterday's lunch off the blog until my husband came home and devoured the leftovers, saying "This is the best hummus ever!" I pointed out that it's not really hummus. "It doesn't have any tahini at all, and the flavors are Southwestern rather than Middle Eastern. And it's super-spicy. Maybe I'll just call it a dip."

So it's a dip. And a sandwich spread. I ate it for lunch in a wrap, along with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, green pepper, and red onions. For our end-of-the-workday Cinco de Mayo snack, we ate it as a dip with crackers. Either way, if you like spicy foods, you'll probably love this. And if you're trying to cut out fat, this recipe's a winner: with all that spiciness, you won't miss the tahini.

Chipotle Chickpea Dip

1 large clove garlic, peeled
15 ounces (1 1/2 cups) chickpeas, drained and liquid reserved
2 tbsp. lime juice
1/2-1 tbsp. chopped canned chipotle peppers (adjust according to how spicy you like it)
1 tbsp. chopped red onion
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
salt to taste
more red onion for garnish

With the food processor running, drop in the garlic and process until chopped. Add the chickpeas and lime juice and begin processing. If it's too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of cooking liquid from chickpeas or, if you're using canned, just use water. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Adjust salt to taste. Serve garnished with chopped red onions.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Kale and Toor Dal

As we sat down to a kid-free dinner last night, the conversation went something like this:

"Hey, this is good. Really good." (My husband, between bites.)

"But it's ugly." (Me, tilting my head and looking at it from different angles.)

"So? It tastes great."

"But it won't look good. On the blog, I mean."

"So you're only cooking for the blog now?"

"Well, no, but I couldn't help but think . . . . Does it bother you that I think about what would be good on the blog?"

"Not at all. I'm the one who gets to eat all this great food!"

And it was great, though definitely not pretty. I had intended to call it Toor Dal with Kale, but after it was prepared I saw that the amount of kale greatly overwhelmed the dal. But if you're looking to get more leafy greens into your diet, this is the recipe for you.

Kale and Toor Dal

1 cup toor dal (may substitute red lentils)
4 cups water
1 bunch kale, washed, center rib removed, and sliced or chopped
1 tsp. canola oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. black mustard seeds
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2-1 tsp. red chili pepper or cayenne
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. fenugreek
1/4 tsp. asafetida
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste

Cook the dal in the water until it is soft, about 30-40 minutes. Use a blender or hand blender to completely puree the dal in its water. Set aside.

In a deep skillet or wok, heat the oil over a medium-hot burner. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and the garlic, and cook for one minute. Add the kale and stir. Add one tablespoon water and cover the pan. Stir every minute or so, and cook until the kale is wilted, about 4 minutes.

Add the dal and remaining ingredients to the kale. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Miscellaneous acknowledgments and an apology:

I took ideas from several sources to come up with this recipe. The cooking technique and some of the spices come from Swiss Chard Dal on the blog Sugar and Spice. I also got spicing hints from Neelam Batra's The Indian Vegetarian: since I didn't have the sambar powder that Sugar and Spice mentioned, I looked at a sambar masala recipe to see exactly what was in it. Finally, I took a look around to see if anyone had blogged specifically about kale and dal and found a recipe for a soup, Toor Dal with Squash and Kale, which, though I didn't use the recipe, introduced me to an interesting blog I hadn't seen before.

And I must apologize to all of you. Despite the best efforts of my college creative writing teacher, Tim Gautreaux, I've never be able to write dialogue. Sorry to inflict it on you. Be thankful I didn't attempt a dialect.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Guacamole Goddess Dressing

I eat a lot of salads--big lunch salads that fill an entire serving bowl--and because I hate a dry salad, I wind up eating a lot of salad dressing. So finding low-fat salad dressings that I like has practically become my life's work. As far as I'm concerned, the less fat it has, the better because I'm not one of those people who can put just a teaspoon of dressing on a salad and be satisfied. If I were eating oily salad dressings, I'd certainly be consuming an extra 500 calories a day, 500 calories that I--and my hips--don't need.

I've been in a salad dressing rut lately. I alternate between my Pecan Dijon Dressing, a very vinegary dressing that I use as the base of almost any kind of salad, and Newman's Own Low-Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing, which has very little fat for such a big taste. I decided yesterday to try to break out of the rut and try something new. I noticed the recipe for Guacamole Goddess Dressing in Robin Robertson's 366 Simply Delicious Dairy-Free Recipes and decided to try it, with a few adaptations of course.

Guacamole Goddess Dressing

1 green onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 small cloves garlic
1 12-oz. package lite silken tofu
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. dried tarragon
1 tsp. agave nectar (or sweetener of choice)
1/2 tsp. spicy mustard
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp. Cajun hot sauce (or to taste)
1 large ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
salt to taste (optional)

In a food processor, pulse the onion, parsley, and garlic until chopped. Add everything else except the avocado and optional salt and process until smooth. Add the avocado and blend well. Taste and adjust salt, if necessary. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.

This turned out to be a very thick mixture, more like a dip than a dressing. I had it on my lunch salad (baby lettuces, spinach, tomato, cucumber, and chickpeas) and it was okay, though I will thin it out some next time. Later in the afternoon, I tried it as a dip for baby carrots, and it was better as a dip than as a dressing; the flavors benefited from a few hours of refrigeration, and the color was not adversely affected.

I think I'll keep playing with this recipe. It was good, but it wasn't "feed it to company" good. The avocado gets a little lost while the tofu flavor (a certain chalkiness) is never hidden.

I'm a great believer in adapting dressing recipes to fit your own taste. People seem to be pickier about dressing than any other food--what I love, someone else is bound to hate and visa-versa. This may be even more true of fat-free dressing recipes because the flavors are all right out there, without oil as a buffer. If you're looking for a low-fat or fat-free dressing recipe, I recommend that you start with a recipe that looks promising, but don't be afraid to add flavors that you know you like. Who knows--my Guacamole Goddess Dressing might be reincarnated as your Artichoke Ranch Dressing. But if it is, drop me a line because I'd sure like to try it!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Almond Jelly with Grilled Pineapple and Mango Puree

This light, elegant-looking dessert is much easier to make than you would think. The heart of the dessert, an Asian jelly, is basically almond milk boiled with agar-agar, a type of seaweed that acts as a vegetarian gelatin. If you can boil water, you can make this dish!

Asian jelly is similar to Western gelled desserts, except that it's firmer; in other words, it doesn't jiggle like Jello. The amount of agar used controls the firmness, so for a softer texture, simply use a little less agar.

Almond Jelly with Grilled Pineapple and Mango Puree
(serves 6)

Almond Jelly:

3 cups almond milk
1/3 cup dark sugar (palm sugar, demerara, or brown sugar)
2 tsp. agar-agar powder (or 2 tablespoons agar flakes)
1/2 tsp. almond extract (may use coconut or other extracts for different flavor)

Put one cup of almond milk in a saucepan, and stir the sugar into it until dissolved. Sprinkle the agar powder over the surface of the almond milk and stir. Bring the mixture to a slow boil and cook, stirring constantly, until the agar is completely dissolved. Add the remaining two cups of almond milk, stir well, and pour into 6 lightly-oiled molds or a single large mold about 4 cups in size. Cover and refrigerate until set, about an hour.

Mango Puree:

Simply puree one ripe mango in a food processor until smooth. If the mango is not sweet, you may add a few drops of agave nectar or other liquid sweetener, but with a truly ripe mango, this shouldn't be necessary.

Grilled Pineapple:

Remove the top and bottom of a pineapple. Stand it upright, and slice off the peel. Cut it into quarters lengthwise (down through the center) and remove the center core from each quarter. Cut each quarter into two, lengthwise, so that you have 8 spears.

Thread each spear onto a skewer (bamboo skewers should be soaked in water for 15 minutes first) or simply place directly onto a hot barbecue grill. Cook until each side is beginning to brown, turning regularly to prevent burning.

Assembly:

Invert almond jelly onto a plate. Top with (or serve alongside) mango puree, with spears of pineapple on the side. Mint garnish is optional.

One of the useful things about agar is that it will gel and stay gelled at room temperature, so it works much more quickly than animal-based gelatin and won't melt outside the refrigerator. Once you've used it one time, you'll want to experiment will all kinds of liquids. You can make fruit gels for your or your child's lunchbox or get really creative and make a gel of your morning coffee, smoothie, or chai. Anything gelled makes a great summertime treat!

Using low-fat, packaged almond milk will make this dessert light in calories as well as taste. But, to get the full antioxidant benefits of the almonds, you may want to make your own almond milk. Simply blanch one cup of almonds briefly, but don't remove the skins (where most of the antioxidants are). In a blender, puree the almonds well with 2 cups of water, and set aside for a few minutes. Then strain the milk from the pulp through a fine sieve, pressing to remove as much milk as possible. Proceed with the Almond Jelly recipe, using one cup of water for the initial cup of almond milk (add a little more sugar since your almond milk is unsweetened) and adding your homemade almond milk at the end.

Mangos and pineapples are also loaded with nutritional benefits. For more healthy recipes, check out the ARF (antioxidant rich foods) Tuesday round-up of recipes at Sweetnicks.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Teriyaki Tofu and Vegetable Kabobs

A beautiful Sunday afternoon inspires in many of us one thought: Get out the barbecue grill! Yes, even vegans like to cook outside on the grill from time to time, and I especially like it because my daughter will eat any vegetable (except pepper) if it's cooked on a skewer. Yesterday's decision to grill was made at the last minute, so I had to make do with what was in the house. I started some tofu marinating in our favorite teriyaki grilling sauce, put on a pot of brown jasmine rice, cut some summer squash and bell peppers into chunks, and threw together an Asian-inspired, grilled fruit dessert. It was simple and light but so good!

Teriyaki Tofu and Vegetable Kabobs
(serves 4)

16 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 yellow summer squash or zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/2-inch slices
1 bell pepper

Teriyaki Grilling Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine, sake, or mirin
2 tbsp. agave nectar or brown sugar
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1-2 tsp. minced ginger root

Mix the sauce ingredients together. Use half to marinate the tofu, and reserve the rest to use during grilling and to add at the table. The best way to marinate the tofu is to put it in a plastic zip-lock bag with the marinade. Turn the bag often so that all parts of the tofu get marinated. Let the tofu sit in the marinade for at least 1 hour.

While the tofu is marinating, soak some bamboo skewers (about 12) in water. When the tofu is ready, thread it onto the skewers, alternating with squash and pepper. Place the kabobs in a large baking dish and pour the tofu marinade over them.

When the fire is ready, place the kabobs on the grill and cook, brushing with some of the reserved teriyaki sauce and turning so that each side is lightly browned. Serve with rice and drizzle with extra sauce at the table.

Dessert was a fairly simple but fancy-looking Almond Jelly with Grilled Pineapple and Mango Puree. I will leave you with a photo; check back soon for the recipe:

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free