How to stay warm

One thing seriously lacking out there in the interwebs are Engine 2 desserts. I've found a few that are already in the book, but otherwise, you can forget it. I made this tonight, because I was craving something kind of sweet and warm.

Engine 2 Rice Pudding

makes about 6 one cup servings

1/2 cup short grain brown rice, rinsed

1 14-oz can light coconut milk

1 1/4 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk (I went with rice milk for this one)

1/2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cardamom

stevia, optional

2 cups fruit (anything goes; fresh or frozen. I used frozen peaches and cherries)

In a large pot with a cover, combine the rice and milks. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, and cover. Check on it every 10 minutes or so, and stir. After about an hour, the rice should be cooked. Whisk in the cornstarch and spices. Increase heat to a low boil, and stir for about a minute. Fold in fruit of choice. Heat through. Add stevia to taste if you want a sweeter flavor. Pour into bowls, and either cool to room temperature, or chill for cold pudding.

Curry and the Cackler

I almost murdered someone tonight. Well, okay. I probably wouldn't have murdered him if I'd had the green light, but I sure did fantasize about crushing his face with my elbow a few times. It was the DRUNK MORON next to me at Louis CK's show tonight. Everything else was awesome; I went with my best friend, we got fourth row tickets, and Louis was hilarious. But, man. Even this dude's buddy looked like he wanted to disappear into a hole in the ground. Imagine Ricky Gervais's laugh, only less endearing, and he kept saying shit like, "Oh man. This is some funny shit!" and commenting on stuff. Really? This guy must not watch Louie at all, because I was waiting for this guy to become a target, and there I am. Next to him. 

Anyway, before the show, I made Coconut Curried Tempeh. I accidentally poured about a half cup of crushed red pepper into it (yikes!), and even though I scraped most of it out of the pan, it wound up so so so spicy. Luckily, my friend is a big fan of spicy. 

I had to do this in parts, but it came together pretty fast. I think next attempt, I'll bake the tempeh, because I like it crispier, and it's hard to get that texture when you're stir frying in water instead of oil.

Coconut Curried Tempeh

makes 4 servings

1 16oz package tempeh, sliced into two flatter pieces, and then into bite sized pieces

1 tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 onion, cut into thin moons

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp minced ginger

2 tsp red curry paste, or curry powder

1/2 lb green beans

1 can light coconut milk

In a large, nonstick pan, blanch the tempeh in about 1/2 inch of water and Bragg's for about 3 minutes. Set aside on a plate. Put diced potatoes and a cup of cold water in the same pan, and cook until almost tender. Pour off the water. Throw in the rest of the veggies, tempeh, and curry. Stir fry until brown, adding spritzes of water to keep from sticking. Add a little more water, cover and steam for about 4-5 minutes. Stir in coconut milk. Serve over brown jasmine rice.

Had enough soup?

I was going to make this yesterday, but it was too warm in my third floor apartment to have the oven on, and I heard today was going to be "brisk." I'll say. I went down to Target to pick up some aluminum foil and a few other things, and nearly blew right out of my frozen skin. I realize that I've lived in Minnesota all 41 years of my life, but I can never be prepared enough for that first cold day. A lady at the bus stop even went so far as to say, "I hear there's snow in some parts" and I said, "You just said 'Macbeth' in a theater, I hope you realize." 

Anyway, a comforting, spicy soup was in order. Most African squash-peanut soups are made with butternut, but I am kabocha's biggest fan. It's kind of like pumpkin, only a little ...I don't know. Zestier? Anyhow, this turned out beautifully.

African Squash and Peanut Soup

makes 6-8 pretty healthy servings

To roast the squash:

1 kabocha or butternut squash, gutted and cut into wedges (reserve seeds if using kabocha; I've never tried toasting butternut seeds)

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 400°

Place the squash wedges in a large baking dish, and pour broth over them. Cover tightly with heavy duty foil, and bake for about 45-60 minutes, turning wedges once, until just tender. Cool on a platter, peel, and cut into small pieces (I just let it get all mashed; I like smooth soups).

To make the soup:

1 onion, finely chopped

6-7 cloves garlic, minced

water

3/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

pinch salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 quart low sodium vegetable broth or water

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter  (only ingredient is peanut; no added oil or salt!)

Cook the onion and garlic in a little water in a large pot or dutch oven until they start to soften. Add a little more water if the veggies start to stick. Add the squash and the rest of the ingredients, and stir well. Cook about 5 or so minutes. Serve garnished with wilted collards and cinnamon-scented kabocha seeds or sunflower seeds, almonds, or pumpkin seeds if desired.

Cinnamon Scented Kabocha Seeds

Make these while your roasted squash is cooling.

seeds from one kabocha squash, or pumpkin

1/2 tsp smoked salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Turn oven down to 300°

Remove the stringy stuff from your seeds (it's okay if there's a little on there). Toss with salt and cinnamon.  Spread evenly on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and bake, turning often, for about 20-25 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Chop them up if desired.

Garlicky Oil-Free Pesto

One thing that sucks about having a job is that during Vegan MoFo, I don't really get second chances to make things. This is why I fail a lot. This dish was not a fail, but will definitely improve when I make it again and again. I think I just puréed it too long, and I need to tweak the seasoning. Don't get me wrong; it's delicious. I just think that I could have done better, but it was hard with all the running to the TV during the debates.

Pesto is traditionally very olive oily. Even when I looked up "lowfat" or "fat free" pesto, I got recipes with SOME oil in it. Well, not this one. It's similar to the recipe over on Oh She Glows, but I left out the lemon (which would have really helped!), and used three cloves of garlic. So, it's waaay garlicky, but I like it like that. I have the night off.



Garlicky Oil-Free Pesto
makes about 1 1/2 cups

3 cloves garlic, chopped 
3/4 can of white beans (I used cannelini), drained and rinsed
1/4 avocado, chopped   
3 oz. fresh basil, stems removed (reserve some for garnish)
handful baby spinach
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
juice of half a lemon
pinch salt
water
fresh ground pepper to taste

In a food processor, purée garlic, beans, and avocado until smooth. Add basil, spinach, walnuts, nooch, lemon, and salt. Turn on the processor and blend, scraping the sides, for 5 second intervals. Start dribbling water into the machine until it reaches a spreadable consistency (I think I used about 1/3 cup, total). Season with pepper, toss with hot pasta or use as a sandwich spread.



 
 

Cuban Black Bean Stew

I woke up this morning feeling like 100% crap, yet managed to pull through a ten hour day after taking an Allegra (which I forgot to pick up at work today GOD DAMMIT). I really really wanted something spicy to get the junk out of my sinuses. I think this was just spicy enough, but it's not going to scare anyone off. I think it's absolutely delicious. Too bad I don't have a special someone to share my cold, and my stew with.



Engine 2 Cuban Black Bean Stew
makes about 6 servings

1 small onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
4 cups cooked black beans (or two cans, drained)
1 can fire roasted tomatoes with chipotles (Muir Glen), or diced tomatoes with chilies
2 tbsp tomato paste
splash sherry vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, or red wine vinegar)
hot sauce, optional
cooked brown rice
cilantro, red onion, lime wedges

In a large pot, with a little bit of water (no oil!), cook and stir the onion, peppers, and garlic until soft. Add oregano, beans, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Cook about five minutes. Stir in a splash of vinegar. Hot sauce to taste. Serve over rice and garnish with chopped red onion, cilantro, and lime wedges.

I'm doing it, okay?

Yes, I know. Not a day goes by that I don't think about this blog, and how I've neglected it. I tend to blow my wad during MoFo, and then spend the rest of the year recuperating. Well, here it is. Vegan Month of Food starts today, and I seriously didn't make up my mind on participating until this morning. I just have zero time! Well...zero time after watching Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, and Walking Dead...

 This morning I missed the bus to Whole Foods, so had to go to the Wedge. This means that I had to budget, which I am no good at. I ended up spending $40 for a bag of groceries, and I can use the stuff for maybe two dishes I have planned. Gawd, can payday please come sooner?

Lucky for me, I had some pictures and a recipe waiting in the wings from last week. Right now, I'm doing the Engine 2 diet. Not because I need to lower my cholesterol (it's never been better!), or because I've strayed off the plant-based path, but because my weight graph on Weight Watchers' website looks like a bunch of Ms and Ws, and I needed something to kick it in the right directions. After two weeks, I'm down 6.5 pounds and feel like I've been scrubbed clean inside. The thing I don't like about it, is the lack of recipes out there. I googled "Engine 2 recipes" and got a lot of stuff from the cookbook. Not a bad thing; because folks who want to do it and not buy the book have a resource, but COME ON. No one's created anything? So, week one of MoFo is all about Engine 2. I'll start with a soup I made last week.

Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes, Apples, and Kale

 (makes a ton)

1 1/2 cups dried green or brown lentils

2 medium red potatoes, diced (leave the skin on)

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

2 apples (I used Granny Smith), cored and diced

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp curry powder

Put all this in a normal-sized slow cooker, and fill almost to the top with water. Cover and cook on low six hours.

Uncover, stir, season to taste (I ended up adding more curry). Then add the following:

1 bunch of dinosaur kale, rinsed and chopped

1 can fire roasted tomatoes with chilis

splash of sherry

Stuff it down in there, cover. Cook on high for about an hour, or until kale is nicely wilted. Serve garnished with avocado or plain, unsweetened soy yogurt.