Zucchini and Chickpea Curry (Sort of African, Sort of Indian)

Veggies and cilantro leaves getting ready to be cooked up ... and the curry cooking. Mmm

The final product (served with some vegan pierogies)! Chewie approves. ;o)

This was seriously delicious!

Zucchini and Chickpea Curry

2 zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 large can chickpeas
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno
1 inch piece ginger root, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
8oz can tomato sauce
1 bunch cilantro leaves
1-2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon of vegan butter
1-2 teaspoons cumin powder
1-2 tablespoons Madras-style medium hot curry powder
2 teaspoons hot Hungarian paprika
sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter and sauté the onion for a bit until translucent. Meanwhile, process the garlic, ginger, and jalapeno in a small food processor until minced. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno mixture to the skillet and stir to combine with the onion. Stir in the fresh chopped tomatoes and zucchini. Stir in the spices and the tomato sauce. If you need to add a little water so that the zucchini is mostly covered by liquid, do so. Add chickpeas and some cilantro leaves on top. Put on lid to skillet and simmer over low-medium heat until zucchini is tender and flavors have combined. Serve with couscous, rice, or, well, pierogies tasted great with this!

Serves 4 hungry souls.

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African Black-eyed Pea Stew with Spicy Butternut Squash HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today began with some vegan pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes felt like just the right breakfast this morning. heh. I always make the pancakes from Vegan Brunch. They really are "perfect." Mmm.

 

Today also begins with my eating totally vegan for a while. I'm going to try to cut out processed foods and eat lower carb too just to  take off a few holiday season pounds. (Today's pancakes don't count. haha) I'm returning to my straight-edge vegan Krishna-core roots for at least a month as I think it really is the healthiest way to live. ;o) 

 

I like to watch a marathon of all the Planet of the Apes movies on New Year's Day. This year, I only got to the first movie 'cause I had a bit of a disaster. I finally ordered my long-awaited Vitamix (thanks mother-in-law and sister-in-law for the gift cards!!) ... and the damn thing didn't work right outta the box! WTF?! So, I have to send it back and reorder it. *cries* At least Amazon has an awesome return policy. But my smoothies will have to wait until a new one arrives. *sniff*

 

I made some avocado hummus for snacking on while we watched the movie. That's how I knew the Vitamix didn't work. :( Recipe here. Picture below. :)

 

For dinner, I made an African Black-eyed Pea Stew with Spicy Butternut Squash to be all traditional and stuff for New Year's Day. Happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year everyone!

This recipe is adapted from the Black-eyed Pea Stew with Spicy Pumpkin recipe in Linda McCartney's cookbook entitled Linda McCartney On Tour: Over 200 Meat-Free Dishes From Around The World (page 110).



 

 Black-Eyed Pea Stew

1 large onion, chopped

2 large carrots, sliced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon paprika

4 tablespoons peanut oil

1 and 1/4 cups vegetable stock

2 x 14oz cans black-eyed peas

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Tabasco to taste

 

Spicy Butternut Squash

2 tablespoons vegan butter
1 medium sized butternut squash, cubed
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons curry powder
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 and 1/4 cups water
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Black-eyed pea stew:
Sauté the onion, carrots, pepper, garlic, thyme, and spices in the peanut oil for 5 mins or so. Add the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, stir in the black-eyed peas, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Cover and simmer for about 15 mins, adding more stock or water as necessary until the veggies are tender.

Spicy Butternut Squash:
Melt the vegan butter in a large saucepan or pot. Sauté the onion in the butter for a bit until it softens up. Add the squash, garlic, tomatoes, spices, and water. Stir well and simmer, covered, until the squash is tender (about 10-15 mins). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with the black-eyed peas.

This was quite good. I hope all that about black-eyed peas is true. ;o)

Cranberry Glazed Vegetarian Meatballs, Spaghetti Squash, and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I'm not a big fan of imitating meat, but I do love vegetarian meatballs. I couldn't find the ones I usually get at Trader Joes, so I made my own. This actually turned out to be absolutely delicious!

Cranberry Glaze Cooking...


16oz can jellied cranberry sauce
12oz bottle of chili sauce (I used the 10oz one from Trader Joes and it was fine)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.


Mashed Sweet Potatoes


4 sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into cubes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 cup mini marshmellows* (yes, these contain gelatin so omit if you're a strict vegetarian)

Set oven to 425°F
Boil sweet potatoes until tender, drain, return to pot
Toss in all other ingredients and mash
Put mashed mixture into oven safe dish and top with mini marshmellows
Bake for about 10 mins ... or just until top is slightly brown


Spaghetti Squash


Since I had to use the oven for the veggie meatballs and the sweet potatoes, I baked this in the microwave. It worked just fine ...

1 medium sized spaghetti squash, cut in half and deseeded
grated parmesan cheese* (some parmesan contains rennet so omit if you're a strict vegetarian)
olive oil
freshly ground pepper

Put squash in bowl with about 1/4 inch water, cut side down
Microwave for about 15 minutes
Squash pulp should break up easy with a fork when done.
Scrape squash pulp out of skin and throw into a casserole dish
Toss with a little olive oil, pepper, and parmesan cheese


Vegetarian Meatballs


2 packages 12oz prebrowned veggie crumbles (I used Boca brand)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup italian style bread crumbs
4 cloves minced garlic
grated parmesan cheese* (I eyeballed it)(*some parmesan contains rennet so omit if you're a strict vegetarian)
1 tsp each of your fave italian herbs (I used dried parsley, dried basil, and dried oregano)
1 tsp (or so) of fennel seeds

Preheat oven to 350°F
Thoroughly defrost veggie crumbles in a skillet over medium heat.
Remove from heat and combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
Form mixture into about 24 balls. (My mixture made 24 small balls and 4 medium balls)
Bake in baking pan or on cookie sheet at 350°F for about 15 mins or until firm
(I baked mine in a mini muffin pan.)

Fresh Dill-Basmati Rice and Pumpkin Saag

I made the fresh dill-basmati rice (p.116) and pumpkin saag (p.184) from Veganomicon last night!

Both were delicious. I added a bit more lemon juice on top of my rice once I had it on my plate because I really love lemon. I'll also add more cayenne pepper to the saag the next time I make it 'cause I love spice!

I'd never cooked a fresh pumpkin before (!!!) so it was really fun roasting it and seeing how fresh cooked pumpkin tastes compared to canned pumpkin. It was delightful. Plus, this was a fun twist on saag paneer which I make on occasion.

Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Carmelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping

I made the Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Carmelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping from p.194 in Veganomicon last night.

It's heavenly! ... and I really do think the cashew ricotta tastes like cheese. It was a little time consuming, but the result is definitely worth it. It's such amazing comfort food. Mmm mmm good. I'll definitely be making this again.

I think Lucas liked it. hee hee.


Here's a pic of a praying mantis that decided to land on a sheet I was drying outside this past August. :) (I just found this picture again when I was uploading these last night.)

Barley with Butternut Squash, Apples and Onions

*Happy Fall!
*I made this last night. It's delicious, cheap to make, low fat, and good for you! yay!



Ingredients

3/4 tsp table salt, divided
1/2 cup uncooked barley
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cup butternut squash, diced
1 cup onion(s), chopped
1/2 cup sweet red pepper(s), diced
1 medium apple(s), peeled, cored, diced
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium vegetable broth

Directions

Bring 3 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan; add barley. Cover saucepan and simmer barley until tender, about 30 to 35 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add squash, onion and red pepper. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are browned and almost tender, about 8 minutes.

Stir in apple, garlic, thyme, black pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, until apple is almost tender, about 2 minutes; stir in broth, scraping bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Stir in cooked barley; toss over low heat to mix and coat. Remove from heat and serve. Yields about 3/4 cup per serving.

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe Source: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=402621