The inspiration for this recipe came from Thai-Inspired Chickpea Salad by FatFree Vegan Kitchen.
Coconut Tamarind Dressing
2 tsp unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1/4 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp tahini paste
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp braggs soy sauce
pinch of cayenne
2 tsp grated ginger
salt and pepper
Mix together the ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl, adjusting to suit your taste. The measurements are meant to be guidelines, I don’t always follow them exactly.
Chickpea Salad
Serves 4
1 red pepper
1 english cucumber
1 avocado
1 large tomato
1 15oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed
fresh cilantro
Chop all the vegetables into bite size pieces, and mix together with the dressing. If you want this salad to last for a while, don’t add the avocado until ready to eat, otherwise they will go brown.
The black lentils and green beans make a great combination in this dish, but any curry flavour can be used. I picked Patak’s Balti because it was the first one I grabbed from the fridge, but experiment and find the flavour you like best.
Balti Beans and Lentils
Serves 4
1 small onion diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp coconut oil, or vegetable oil
3 tbsp Patak’s Balti
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 cup black lentils (or french lentils)
2 cups water
2 cups fresh or frozen green beans, cut into bite size pieces,
3 tbsp almond butter
Start by frying the onion and garlic in coconut oil. Any vegetable oil will work, but coconut oil leaves a distinct flavour on the dish without being overpowering.
Add the Patak’s, water, spices and lentils. If you are using fresh green beans, cook lentils for 20-30 minutes until softened but not cooked completely, then add green beans and cook another 10 minutes. For frozen beans, cook lentils until soft, then add green beans and cook until beans are hot. By adding the frozen green beans at the last, they will stay as crunchy as possible.
Don’t forget to stir in Almond Butter before serving.
This recipe is a very simple chili recipe and many of the ingredients can be substituted for what you have on hand.
Chili Chard
Serves 2 as main dish
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 15oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 15oz can northern beans
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
cayenne pepper
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
Prep the chard by first soaking it in water, then remove most of the main stem, as it is tough and would take longer to cook. Stack up the chard, and slice into finger width slices using a sharp knife. I find it easier to take several leaves together, roll them and then slice the roll, similar how you would chiffonade fresh basil.
Fry the onion and garlic in oil, before adding tomatoes, beans, water and spices. Cook mixture for 10 minutes, add more water if necessary. Add sliced chard on top and cover for 3 minutes. Stir chard into mixture and cook until softened.
This dressing is similar to many used in asian salads with napa cabbage and ramen noodles. There is no sugar used in this recipe, so the amount of vinegar may need to be adjusted to your taste. If you find it too tart, add some sugar or maple syrup to balance it out.
Sesame Ginger Dressing
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp flax oil
1 tsp Bragg’s Soy Sauce
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp dulse Flakes
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
fresh ground pepper
I prefer to use Indian thick or thin sev instead of the ramen noodles, and red or green leaf lettuce. Sev can be purchased at most Indian grocery stores, and is made from chick pea flour, salt, oil and spices. The thin sev is spicy but thick sev is milder. Either one gives the crunch to the salad and mixes well with the sesame ginger dressing.
Sesame Ginger Salad
Serves 4-6 as side salad
1 head leaf lettuce
1 avocado, diced
thin or thick sev
Mix together the ingredients for the dressing in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. I like to soak my lettuce in cold water for 10 minutes to crisp it up, then tear into small pieces and spin in a salad spinner. Toss the lettuce in the dressing until well coated.
Distribute the lettuce into serving bowls, then add avocado and sev on top before serving.
What makes this so good is the Coconut flakes and Almond Butter. If you want a creamier sauce, you can add some milk or soy milk.
Curried Cauliflower
Serves 2 as main dish or 4 as side dish
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp Patak’s Korma paste
2 cups water
1 small head of cauliflower, chopped
1 tbsp shredded coconut
2 tbsp almond butter
Fry onions and garlic in Coconut Oil. Any vegetable oil can be used, but coconut oil goes well with the korma spice mix. Add Patak’s and slowly add in the water to form a sauce.
Add the shredded coconut and cauliflower. Cook for 10-15 minutes depending on how cooked your prefer your cauliflower.
Add in the Almond Butter, cooked for a couple of minutes and then serve.
Per serving: 450 Calories (kcal); 35g Total Fat; 12g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 95mg Sodium; 10g Fiber.
Whenever the bananas get to old to eat in our house, I stick them in the freezer to be used later in baking. They are the perfect freezer food, they come already wrapped no containers or plastic bags necessary. To use frozen bananas remove from freezer and remove the peel. I typically cut the ends of each banana, then slice down the outside and inside. The peel should, with some thumb power, pop off the banana. I use the same method for banana muffins.
Peanut Butter Banana Smootie
Makes 2 large glasses
3-4 frozen Bananas
2 tbsp Flax meal
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 tbsp Agave Nectar
2 cups soymilk
Combine everything in a blender and start at the lowest speed working your way up to full speed. The idea is to get it as whipped up as possible.
Per serving: 500 Calories (kcal); 19g Total Fat; (35% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 66g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 214mg Sodium; 12g Fiber.
This sauce is a great base and could be used in a variety of recipes. I typically use this over buckwheat noodles, with some shittake mushrooms and steam broccoli.
Peanut Szechaun Sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
hot sauce, chili sauce or cayenne pepper
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 cups soy milk (or more as needed)
In a 4 cup measuring cup, or small bowl, mix together the ingredients. It’s easiest to start with the peanut butter and everything but the soy milk. Once all the other ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, slowly add the soy milk and incorporate into the sauce.
Szechaun Noodles with Mushrooms and Broccoli
Serves 4
2 bundles buckwheat noodles (each bundle is 1″ in diameter)
1 tbsp oil
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced (or more if you like garlic)
1-2 tsp grated ginger
4 cups sliced shittake mushrooms
1 head broccoli, divided into bit size pieces
Cook the noodles according to the directions. These can be cooking while you are cooking the other ingredients. They should be done about the same time.
Start by frying the onions in the oil until soft. Add the garlic and ginger.
Add the mushrooms and mix around so they get coated with the garlic and ginger. If the pan gets to dry, add a couple tablespoons of water as necessary. This will keep the mushrooms from getting stuck to the pan. The mushrooms can cook for about 10 minutes.
When the noodles are almost cooked, add the broccoli and 2-3 tablespoons of water to the mushrooms. The water will steam the broccoli and loosen and stuck bits of mushrooms on the bottom.
Once the broccoli has cooked for a couple of minutes, add the sauce and more soy milk if needed. Sometimes the sauce will be too thick and more soy milk is necessary. Add in the noodles, mix well and serve.
Many substitutions can be made with this dish, including tempeh, red peppers, fried tofu. Any type of noodle will work as well, experiment and make the dish your own.
I haven’t decided if these should be brownies or cake, so we’ll call it brownie cake! The original recipe is from How It All Vegan by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. I have changed it to use Silken Tofu and no Pecans. I recommend to use hemp oil in brownies to give a richer flavour. If you every get a chance to make Hempola’s Brownie mix, they rock!
Chocolate Brownie Cake
Serve 4-8
1 box Mori-Nu Silken Tofu
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp hemp oil (or any oil you have)
1 tbsp molasses
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
Start by whisking the tofu in a bowl to break it down until there are no lumps. A blender can be used as well, I just get sick of too many dishes to clean so use a whisk. Add in the sugar, vanilla, oil and whisk them together with the tofu.
Dump the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder on top, mix together so the baking powder is evenly distributed then incorporate into wet mixture. You can use a separate bowl to mix the dry ingredients, the main thing is not having lumps of baking powder, as this can cause uneven rising.
Grease a 8×8 pan with oil or vegan margarine, dump in the mix make sure to lick the spoon when finished and bake for 20 – 25 minutes.
You wouldn’t think that perogies and curry would go together, but the result is scrumptious. The outside of the perogies soak up the curry flavour, while the inside potato and onion mixture doesn’t change. Make sure you use plain potato and onion perogies as potato and cheddar cheese just doesn’t work with curry.
Curried Perogies
Serves 2
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp hemp oil
2 tbsp Pataks Korma Curry Paste
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin, coriander (optional)
2 cups So Nice soy milk
12 frozen Potato and Onion perogies
1 cup frozen green peas
Start as you would any other indian dish and fry the onions in oil. Once the onions have softened add the Pataks, then slowly add the soymilk to build a creamy sauce.
The tumeric can be added anytime after the soymilk. Add the cumin and coriander at the same time. These are not necessary but will give more curry flavour to the dish, without adding any heat.
Once the sauce is bubbling the perogies can be added. Cook until they are cooked through, which generally should be when they give easily to the spoon. This will probably take 8 – 12 minutes depending on the perogies.
The green peas can be added once the perogies are finished as they only take a couple of minutes to cook.