Cauliflower Pea Curry

 I recently took one of those ‘personality profile’ self-exams – you know the ones. After answering questions like “Would you rather chair a 20-person committee for the rededication of the town park or stuff envelopes in the back room?”,  you are given a score. That score places you on a personality spectrum, ranging from the daring extrovert to the quietest and most introverted church mouse.

Guess what? I am a quiet and introverted church mouse. SURPRISE! One of the qualifiers for my personality type is “likes to write poetry” and the very week I took the personality test, I had written a poem.

Another qualifier was the word ‘silent.’ Whoa. SILENT. That’s pretty quiet.

My co-workers all agreed with the results of my profile, saying stuff like, “Yes, Tracy, you are silent.” Again, whoa.  Am I so transparent?  

The world around me is chatty, and daring, and extroverted. Me? I’m happy sitting on the couch writing poetry 😊 .

Here’s a spicy recipe to excite even the quietest and most introverted of us. Take a plain cauliflower and give it some personality.

Here’s what you need:

2 lbs cauliflower, washed and broken in flowerets

3 T non-diary butter (Earth Balance is the best brand)

½ t dried ginger

½ t salt

½ t turmeric

½ t cayenne

½ t coriander

½ t dried mustard seeds

½ t cumin seeds

¼ t cinnamon

1 clove garlic, minced

½ C water

1 ½ C frozen peas

2 tomatoes, diced

Cilantro

Here’s what you do:

Melt the butter, add all the spices, and stir.  Add the cauliflower and water and stir until coated. Cover and allow the cauliflower to steam until medium tender. Add the peas and cilantro. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook only until they are warmed through.

I served this with Biryani Rice which has the exact flavor profile, so neither this delicious curry or the rice got the attention they deserved. Next time I make this, I’ll serve it with plain rice and perhaps some dahl. 

Biryani

The most delicious, flavorful, spice-warm rice you will ever eat. There are many recipes on the internet to choose from, but mine is pretty darn good, so don’t even bother to shop around. You could serve this with a huge salad and grilled mushrooms or tofu and it would be an impressive meal. I served mine with a cauliflower and pea curry which had the same flavor profile as the biryani, so I don’t think the rice  got its well-deserved acclaim. 

I found a recipe for bryani (a typo?)  in “The Vegetarian Epicure” by Anna Thomas, copyright 1972. 1972! The entire cookbook is quite a walk down ‘hippie’ lane, but there are some gems between the pages. I made some modifications and those are reflected below.

Biryani

Here’s what you need:
¼ C non-dairy butter

1 ½ t cumin seeds

1 ½ t mustard seeds

¼ t cayenne pepper

½ t salt

1 clove garlic, crushed and minced

¼ t turmeric

¼ t ground ginger

½ t ground cinnamon

½ t ground coriander

1 large eggplant, peeled and diced

1 C sliced green onions

1 C blanched fresh wax beans (yellow beans), cut in 1 inch pieces

1 C chopped  jarred sweet red peppers

1 C chopped fresh tomatoes

4-5 C cooked rice, which has been prepared in vegetable broth

2/3 C roasted cashews, chopped in large pieces (or left whole for a better presentation)
½ C golden raisins

Here’s what you do:

Melt the butter and stir in the spices for a few minutes. Add the vegetables. Stir well and cook until veg is a bit soft. Add the cooked rice, cashews, and raisins. Stir well and pour in a buttered casserole. Cover tightly and bake at 350 degrees for about ½ hour. 

Creamy Vegan Asparagus Soup

I hit it out of the asparagus ballpark with this one, folks. You know when asparagus season hits, it hits hard, so take note of this beautiful soup and add it to your pile of asparagus recipes. Not only was the flavor excellent, but the delicate green color was really pretty. Be sure to save the tips of the asparagus for a garnish.

Here’s what you need:
2 bunches fresh asparagus, cut in 1 inch pieces, tips reserved

2 T butter

1 large sweet onion, diced

6 C vegetable broth (light in color if possible)

Lemon zest (nice as a garnish, or added in the soup)

Lemon juice from 1 lemon

½ C raw cashews

Here’s what you do:

Sautee the onions in the butter. Add the asparagus (reserve the tips) and the broth. Simmer until the veg is very soft.

Carefully transfer the asparagus mixture to a blender and whirl. You may need to strain it. 

Whirl the cashews in a high-speed blender with about 1 C water to create a cream. Add this to the soup along with the lemon juice.

Drop the asparagus tips in boiling water for a minute or two, just until tender. Use them as a garnish.

Herb and Lemon White Bean Hummus

Are there any original recipes out there at all anymore? What with the internet and the plethora of cookbooks, I can barely imagine an original *anything* any more.

Actually, that's not entirely the case, because I have invented plenty of memorable recipes, many of which appear here on this blog. I do follow many, many recipes to the letter, but sometimes I riff and create and go off in various ways.

Here is a basic white bean hummus from "Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan" by Dreena Burton. I did everything she said....except I added lots of lemon zest (reflected below).

 I kept mine a bit chunky and I think I added too much water at the end, but oh well! It's hummus, not rocket science.

Super delicious. Very light. Not too garlicky which is nice once in a while. Good as a dip or rolled in tortillas. Eat it with a spoon or with veg or crackers or tortilla chips.

Herb and Lemon White Bean Hummus
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 T fresh lemon juice or more to taste
lots of lemon zest
1 T tahini
1 clove garlic
1-2 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1/2 t Dijon
1/2 t sea salt
black pepper to taste
water as needed to thin
fresh herbs: thyme and basil: to taste

Blend it all together. Thin with water. Add herbs.

Orange Black Bean Taquitos and Chickpea Avocado Salad (Forks Over Knives)

It’s hard to say when my eating preferences changed. It’s hard to say why they changed. As I have  mentioned before, I do know there were a few events all occurring at once, 4 ½ years ago, that motivated me to try eating a vegan diet. My daughter was living with a vegan at the time, and we were super curious about her food. She shared her recipe for potato tacos with roasted jalapeno crema, and we were in love.

Also, at that same time, some health issues arose in the family- some small, some large – but enough to be a wake-up call regarding our health. Less cholesterol and more green stuff.

Thirdly, my blog was in need of a boost, and participating in Vegan Month of Food (the VeganMoFo….which I loved then and still love to this day) seemed like the right amount of challenge. One month of vegan meals. What could happen?

Well, what happened was that I became vegan.

Along the way, I was inspired by books and podcasts and blogs and cookbooks and one movie in particular. It’s called “Forks Over Knives” and if you have not viewed it, I highly encourage you to check it out. It’s not a scary ‘animal rights’ film or a film that makes you feel guilty for eating cheese. It’s simply an explanation of why eating animal foods is harmful to our health. It changed my life….yes, a movie changed my life.

Here are two recipes from the Forks Over Knives website. I’m positive they won’t mind me sharing them with you.

Orange Black Bean Taquitos (original recipe HERE)

1 large yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 t cumin seeds, toasted and ground

2 chiptole peppers in adobo sauce, minced

Zest and juice of two oranges

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

Salt

Corn tortillas

Toppings (guacamole, salsa, spicy sour cream, etc. )

Sauté the onions in a tiny bit of water for a few minutes until they begin to soften and brown. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time to keep them from sticking. Add the garlic and continue to cook. Add the cumin, peppers, orange zest and juice, and the black beans.

Salt to taste and puree in a food processor. It doesn’t need to be completely smooth.

Soften the tortillas in a dry, hot, non-stick pan and spoon about 2-3 T of the bean mixture in each tortilla. Roll them up and brown them in a hot, non-stick pan until they are toasted.

Chickpea Avocado Salad (original recipe HERE)

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 small red onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced or passed through a press ( I usually omit raw garlic, as I do in this recipe)

Zest of 1 lime and juice of 4 limes

1 jalapeno pepper, seed and veins removed for less heat

½ C chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

1 avocado, coarsely chopped

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Add the avocado carefully just before serving. 

Curried Potatos and Peas in Butter Lettuce (with Tomato Chutney)

Look at that plate of beautiful food! It's enough just to feast on the colors and textures, but it's the flavors that make this meal really special.

These excellent recipes come from Vegetarian Today magazine (April 2017). They suggest serving the potato mixture samosa style - stuffed in pie crust and baked-- like a hand held pie. I decided to serve it on butter lettuce and it was amazing!

I don't think I should post the recipes here because of copyright issues. I'm positive you can find recipes for potato and pea curry and also a spicy tomato chutney all over the internet. And if you are a subscriber to Vegetarian Today (formerly Vegetarian Times) check out the recipes there. AMAZING. This one is going in the 'save' pile

Easy Vegan Gravy

Here's a simple recipe that packs a perfect punch when you need a quick gravy. I served it over a creamy cauliflower and potato mash. Please notice the gorgeous Portobello Wellington on the plate also! You can't believe how easy that Wellington is....find the recipe HERE.

Easy Vegan Gravy
 
Here's what you need:
1/2 C flour
1/2 C nutritional yeast
pinch oregano
pinch black pepper
olive oil
soy sauce
soy milk

Here's what you do:
In a cast iron skillet, toast the flour, yeast, oregano, and pepper. When you see the flour browning and it starts to smell toasty, blend in just enough olive oil to create a roux. Stir and whisk and stir and whisk. Add water and soy milk to create a gravy that is a pleasing consistency. At the end, add a few shakes of soy sauce.

Shannon’s Four Greens Pesto

My sister-in-law made this delicious pesto for us when she was here visiting from her home in Brazil.

 It was October and we spent time up north where we rented the most glorious house for a few days. Can you picture the very tip of the Leelanau Peninsula?  Not sure what I’m talking about? Well, can you picture the very tip of the pinky finger in the imaginary “Michigan Map” that your left hand makes? The very tippy tip? That’s where we were, mainly dodging rain drops and battling cold Michigan wind.

There is a wild beauty in the outdoors in October as you can see from my photos. You can also see that I tried to capture all the shades of color that I saw in a 5 minute period out our window.

Can you read the recipe and figure it out? Basically, put it all in the food processor and serve over fettuccine, garnishing with the obvious things.  I didn’t think using all four greens would be good ...that it would have too many flavors. But I was wrong. This is a super pesto! 

Roasted Curry Cauliflower

“Everything’s gotta have a concept!” My husband has been repeating this all week long. He is reading a book on how to get people to read your writing (says the woman who writse a tiny blog that has no concept and that no one reads….., but I digress……), and the entire message of the book it this : Everything’s gotta have a concept.

Well, did we experience ‘concept’ recently at Olives and Wine in Traverse City. I would never have imagined such a concept! Upon entering this establishment, you put money on a card and then use the card to purchase glasses of wine. Insert the card, push the button, center the glass under the little hose, and sip! The wine was organized simply in reds and whites, all available to try and taste. At first, it was overwhelming, but after a glass or two, it was super fun! I admit,  I prefer when the waiter teaches me about new wines and makes suggestions based on my preferences,but this was fun! And we had some good wines. 

Another concept at this establishment was the Greek menu. They served an excellent hummus with the most delicious curried cauliflower and I replicated it perfectly at home.

Such a simple preparation, but oh, what powerful flavor! Simply cut an entire head of cauliflower into large flowerets, douse them liberally with olive oil, and spoon lots and lot of curry power over it all. Use your hands to massage it all together and bake at 400 or 450 until its nice and soft and toasty in all the right places.

Parmesan Eggplant Meatballs

I was super irritated the last few summers with the meager supply of eggplants at my local *big box* garden center. Am I really the only person in my town who grows eggplants at home? Can’t the garden centers carry a few plants for the eggplant lovers out there? Apparently not.

Anyway, last year I wanted the classic globe shaped vegetable, but ended up with a Japanese variety. They were way too narrow for eggplant bacon, and I hated to waste them (they grew like crazy!), so I had to find another way to use them. Luckily I found the perfect recipe. Even those of you who are eggplant shy, will enjoy these little beauties.

This is how they look directly from the oven.
Obviously mine were not beautifully shaped balls, but it didn't matter. 

Parmesan Eggplant Meatballs (veganized by me, originally found in the 'Heirloom Gardener' catalog) 

Here’s what you need:

1 ½ pound of firm, small, peeled eggplants, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2 T olive oil

½  t salt

½ C fresh parsley

1/3 C fresh basil

1 C panko bread crumbs

2/3 C vegan parmesan cheese (my favorite recipe can be found HERE)

2 eggs (I used 2 flax eggs)

Last night's dinner : I pulled the eggplant meatballs directly from the freezer and fried them. Delicious! Crunchy on the outside and creamy and tender on the inside. 

Here’s what you do:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toss eggplant cubes, garlic cloves, and salt with oil and bake in a foil covered baking sheet for 30 minutes, or until everything is nice and soft. Allow to cool and remove any excess moisture by squeezing it out. (To speed along the process, you can chill the veg in an ice bath by putting the hot veg in a big bowl, and then placing the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water.) Increase oven temp to 375.

In a food processor process the parsley and basil until coarse. Add the eggplant, bread crumbs, parmesan, and eggs and blend until its nice and smooth.

Line a baking sheet with parchment, use wet hands, form meatballs about 1 ½ inches in diameter, bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

I froze these in dinner-size portions and they have behaved beautifully right from the freezer.