JustVeganIt

Mushroom and Bell Pepper Gravy (Serves 3-4)

 

Down, but not out!

This offering is perfect for those cold days when every inch of your body is succumbing to the outside cold (well not much of that has been happening in the recent past, but you get the gist), and you want something to warm you up all over. 

A large cup of hot chocolate with soy milk would be nice, but we do have other alternatives don’t we? This dish was prepared on one of those rare cold winter days this year, and goes great with bread, or over some basmati rice. 

And the kicker? An absolutely low-fat and sugar-free vegan dish!

6 cups diced mushrooms
1 large red onion diced
½ red bell pepper diced
½ green bell pepper diced
16 large fresh basil leaves (12 of them chopped fine)
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp dry Italian seasoning
Salt to taste
2 ½ tsp oil
5 small tomatoes diced
1 tsp cayenne pepper 
¼ cup warm water

I would recommend having all the ingredients in one place before starting the cooking process, so that you don't miss out on any of them. 

Note: All the vegetables have to be diced into ¾ - 1 inch size pieces, and set aside in different bowls.

1. In a wok on medium heat add 1 tsp oil and saute the onion until it is translucent and sweet. Now include the tomatoes and continue sauteing until cooked.

2. Empty the contents of the wok into a blender and blend to a fine paste. Keep aside.

3. Add 1 ½ tsp oil now to wok on medium heat. Add the Italian seasoning, cloves, black pepper, turmeric powder, basil leaves, and cumin powder and stir for 15 seconds or so, till the spices get cooked and impart their flavor to the oil.

4. The mushroom, green pepper and red pepper go in next with the salt. Saute continuously for a few minutes on high heat and then mix the blended onion and tomato paste to this, cayenne pepper and ¼ cup water. Reduce the heat to medium.

 

 

5. Cook until everything is mixed well and vegetables are just done (crunchy but cooked).

6. Garnish with the rest of the fresh basil leaves.

7. Serve hot! 

Enjoy this spicy and tasty dish, surrendering yourself to the Indian and Italian flavor fusion.

 

 

Green Pea Soup (Serves 2-3)

 

When I read Lydia Walshin's green pea soup preparation at ThePerfectPantry.com, it inspired me enough to make green pea soup as well. After all, who doesn’t love green peas? Well a lot of us do :-).

So, after giving some thought about the ingredients I was ready. What I had in mind was something a little herby in taste given the sweetness of the green peas, but at the same time have some spicy kick to it with some good garnishing on top.

I have to tell you, it turned out to be one of the best soups I have made. You got to try this :-).

5 stalks of scallion
4 cups frozen green peas
1 portabella mushroom
2 cloves garlic
1 long Chinese hot pepper
8 leaves of fresh sweet basil
1 small bunch fresh parsley leaves
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
⅛ tsp of dried Italian seasoning (store bought)
3 tsp oil
2 ¼ cups water
¾ tsp salt or as per taste
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Soup
1) Boil the green peas in water until tender. Save the water after draining. Once the peas have cooled down, blend the green peas, adding the 8 leaves of fresh sweet basil and 2 ¼ cups of the saved water. Set aside.

2) Chop the scallion into fine slices, slicing the white part separately from the green part. Chop the garlic cloves fine and crush them with the knife.

3) In a large wok or a soup pot, on medium heat, add 1 tsp oil. As the oil gets hot, throw in the garlic and the white part of the scallion. Keep stirring until the scallion is cooked and translucent, a few minutes maybe.

4) Add the blended green peas and basil mix at this time. Add ½ tsp salt and ⅛ tsp Italian seasoning (crush the seasoning in your hand as you add it). Mix well, and cook until the soup just starts to boil. Turn off the heat.

Garnish
1) Dice the portabella mushroom into small and thin pieces. Slice the hot Chinese pepper length wise and slice them thin. Chop the fresh parsley and rosemary very fine.

2) On a non stick pan on medium heat, add 2 tsp oil. Add the portabella mushroom, ¼ tsp salt or as per taste, cayenne pepper, and saute for a few minutes until the water from the mushroom mostly evaporates. Now add the sliced hot pepper, mix and saute for a few more minutes, adding the fresh chopped herbs towards the end.

Fill a soup serving bowl with the green pea soup, garnish generously on top with the mushroom and pepper garnish, the green part of the scallion, and serve the soup hot with hot bread.

The combination of the mellow sweetness of the green peas and basil, and the spicy kick of the garnish was an unbeatable combination. We really enjoyed dinner today.

 

Stir Fried Chinese Vegetables and Tofu (Serves 3)

I drew inspiration for the above recipe from this post by Jaden Hair over at SteamyKitchen.com. Jaden’s version is Chinese vegetables with sticky rice that includes pork. Keeping the idea same, I made a vegetarian dish with a couple of different ingredients.

Since the focus here is vegan, I replaced the pork with tofu, and just left out the sticky rice, as it can really raise your sugar levels.

The result is a fantastic and simple dish bursting with the flavor of the vegetables. 

14oz (397gms) extra firm tofu

 3 fresh shiitake mushrooms (.15lb)

1lb baby bok choy

8oz can of sliced bamboo shoots

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp white sesame seeds

fresh ground black pepper

½ tsp salt

4 – 4 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (4 1/2 tbsp based on preference)

½ tbsp rice vinegar

1 ½ tsp whole wheat flour

¼ cup water 

1. Cut the tofu into ½ inch pieces and boil it in water for 10 minutes or so to harden it. Drain the water and set aside in a bowl.

2. Drain the bamboo shoots, and wash in cold water.

3. Dice the shiitake mushrooms into small pieces.

4. Cut the stem off the baby bok choy and cut the stalk and the leaves into 1 inch pieces. 1 lb bok choy seems a lot but it is a leafy vegetable and shrinks in size when cooked.

5. In a large wok, add oil. When hot add the sesame seeds and some fresh ground pepper. Keep stirring.

6. When the sesame seeds turn golden brown and you can smell their fine aroma, add the mushrooms. Stir for 30 seconds or so.

7. Add the bamboo shoots and bok choy and keep stirring on high heat.

8. After a couple of minutes, add the tofu and combine everything well.

9. Add the salt, soy sauce, rice vinegar and scatter the whole wheat flour around. Mix everything well together.

10. Add ¼ cup water, cover the wok with a plate and cook for just under a minute. The dish is ready.

11. Serve immediately along with a low-starch rice such as basmati rice.

 

 

Multi Bean Salad (Serves 8-10)

We had our friends over a few months ago for a small party.

One of the items on the menu was this simple multi bean salad as part of the hors o doeuvres, that would go along well with some corn chips.

This salad is not only nutritious and healthy, it packs in great taste as well and is an immediate hit with all. Above all, it is very simple to make.

1 cup cooked black eyed beans
1 cup cooked chick peas
1 cup cooked kidney beans
2 cups cooked black beans
500g green pepper
400g red pepper
1 large jalapeno
3 tbsp heap minced fresh dill
3 tbsp heap minced fresh coriander leaves
2 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 ½ tbsp light olive oil
1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

You can buy the cooked and canned beans from the store or you can soak raw beans overnight in water and pressure cook them. Well, if you aren't crazy, buying it from the store is the way to go. In my case I was crazy enough :-).

1. After measuring the amounts for the salad, rinse the canned beans in cold water. Add all the beans to a large aluminum baking tray (mid size). Set aside. 

2. Remove the seeds and stem from the green and red peppers and dice them into ½ inch pieces. Add these to the bean mix. Mince the large jalapeno and add it to the beans as well.

3. In a medium sized bowl, add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and salt and pepper and whisk everything together well. Pour this over the bean and vegetable mix.

4. Garnish with the fresh dill and coriander leaves, and then taking a spatula mix everything well together until well incorporated.

5. Serve cold on its own, or with baked corn chips.

 

Grilled Pepper (Capsicum) Salad with Avocado (Serves 2-3)

I had been wanting to make a kind of salad with avocado, preparing it a little differently. My wife loves avocado and if you happened to look away, they would all be gone. There have been a couple of instances where she made avocado, onion and tomato salad with coriander and jalapeno, and before I could come down for dinner, the salad would have been devoured or if she was generous then maybe there would be a tablespoon left lol.

So this time around, I made sure I got hold of one avocado for this salad I was dying to make. I got my opportunity :-).

300 gm mix of green and red pepper (seeded)
5 garlic cloves
1 avocado
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 tbsp fresh coriander leaves minced
1 jalapeno minced (with seeds)
fresh oregano leaves minced (20 leaves)
15 drops of lemon juice

1. Take a green pepper and a red pepper, remove the stem and the seeds and cut them into long thin stripes. Finely mince the jalapeno pepper, garlic cloves, coriander leaves and oregano leaves as well.

2. Add oil in a frying pan. As the oil starts to turn hot, add the jalapeno, garlic and black pepper, and stir for around half a minute or so to add their flavor to the oil.

3. Now add the red and green peppers, and oregano leaves and stir well. Stop cooking when the veggies are roasted and half cooked (still crunchy). Set aside to cool.

4. You need an avocado that has just turned ripe, and not one that is overripe or mushy. That does not serve the purpose and texture of this salad. To negotiate with the avocado (just for those who aren’t familiar with it), cut with a knife horizontally around the center of the avocado. The seed is right in the middle of the avocado and you do not want to cut through it. You cut with the knife until you reach the seed.

5. Once you have done this, hold one side (bottom) of the avacado with your left hand and the other side (top) with your right hand. Turn each hand either way, one clockwise and the other anticlockwise. The avocado nicely comes apart with the seed attached to one half.

6. Remove the seed and then using a spoon scoop out the flesh which comes off rather easily from its skin. Dice it into ½ inch pieces.

7. In a large bowl add the cooled down cooked veggies, avocado, coriander leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and the lemon juice. Stir everything slowly so as to not break the avocado.

8. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Tofu Bhurji (Serves 5)

 

Tofu Bhurji means scrambled tofu. Bhurji is a very popular dish in India, usually made with eggs or paneer (cottage cheese) as the main ingredient and adding spices as one pleases along with tomatoes and onions.

I was thinking healthy and wanted to make this as a vegan dish, and what better alternative than tofu that makes this dish so easy to prepare, and is also appealing to all those who are looking for a tofu variation.

14 oz (397gm) Nasoya Extra Firm Tofu
1 ¼ medium red onions (American size)
4 plum tomatoes
1 large jalapeno pepper
2 tsp oil
¼ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seed powder
½ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1/16 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
5-6 tbsp minced fresh coriander leaves

Press the tofu and drain out as much of the water as possible. I got extra firm tofu since I wanted the tofu to maintain its texture. Crush the tofu with your hands until you powder it entirely. Set aside.

Chop the onions, tomatoes and jalapeno pepper very fine.

In a large non-stick pan on medium heat, add oil. As the oil heats up add cumin seeds and jalapeno peppers and stir a bit. Throw in the onions, add ¼ tsp of salt and stir the ingredients. Add ¼ tsp cumin powder, ¼ tsp coriander powder, and 1/16 tsp turmeric powder. Stir often until the onions start turning slightly brown, while maintaining their crunchiness.

Add the tomatoes, and ¼ tsp salt. Keep stirring until you see the water separate from the dry gravy. At this time, add the tofu, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp cumin powder, and ¼ tsp cayenne pepper. Mix everything well and cook till there isn’t any residual water from the tofu. The dish will look dry but with moisture retained.

Garnish it with all the coriander leaves, and stir well for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot with chapattis, bread, or just as is. A very healthy low fat dish, packed with proteins and vegetables.

 

Mixed Greens Salad (Serves 2)

Don’t ask me why this salad accompanied a main course that had a coconut based stew of all things.

But we ate the salad as an appetizer and then gave ourselves some time before we moved on to the main course that we had with some puris (roll out whole wheat flour in small thin circles and deep fry them) and rice.

Since I purchased a large box of organic mixed greens (baby spinach, arugula, etc.) from Sam’s Club more than a week ago, we have been all about salads to the extent that I now feel like a moo moo cow! :-)

But all kidding aside, this salad is finger licking tasty. Throw in some vegetables to the greens with the right amount of dressing and voila, you have your self a great tasting salad.

2 ½ heaped cups mixed greens
25 green olives
1 large plum tomato diced
1 medium onion diced
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
2 ½ tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Add the diced onions and tomatoes to a salad bowl. Cut the green olives into halves and add them to the bowl. These are canned salted green olives in water, store bought.

Now add the greens to the bowl, along with salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil and the balsamic vinegar and toss everything really well until incorporated.

Serve fresh with a slice of toasted pumpernickel bread.

Carrot Salad (Serves 2)

 

Finally! Got to make something vegan and diabetic friendly after a long while. Hence the delay in posting in such a long time. We had some friends over for thanksgiving, and I made this really simple side salad.

I love this salad and was preparing this after years.

1.1 lbs (1/2 kg) fresh carrots
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 bunch fresh coriander leaves (7 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves)
Juice from 1 1/2 large ripe lemons
4 medium Indian green chillies finely chopped

Clean the carrots, peel the skin off with a peeler, and grate them in a food processor or hand grater. Set aside in a large salad bowl.

To this, add salt, Indian green chilies chopped very fine (the spicy small Indian green chilies), finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, and juice from 1 ½ ripe lemons. Mix everything really well and place in the refrigerator to marinade for 15-20 minutes or so, until ready to serve.

The combined taste of the sweet carrots, tangy lemon juice, spicy chilies and fresh herbs is heaven! :-)

Serve as a side salad with main course.

Cherry Tomato Relish

We are down to the last produce from our small backyard garden before the cold fall weather sets in. The plants are slowly starting to look a little lifeless.

About a week and a half ago, my wife brought in cherry tomatoes from our vegetable garden. This was a huge picking, easily around 6 cups of ripe cherry tomatoes.

The daily reminders started that I better do something with them or her whole gardening effort will go down the drain.

So I decided to create 2 dishes out of these sweet cherry tomatoes – a very healthy cherry tomato relish for the vegans, and a nice baked cherry tomato salad for my other blog. I got done with the relish first so here we go.

3 cups ripe cherry tomatoes (17oz or 485gm)
1 large jalapeno minced, with seeds (4 tbsp full)
3/8 cup Splenda sweetener (granulated)
4 scallions (only the green leafy part of the scallion minced, 3 tbsp full)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cumin powder
1/16 tsp black pepper
1 cup water

Clean the cherry tomatoes and mince them into very small pieces, as small as you can.

In a wok or similar vessel on medium heat, pour 1 cup water. As the water starts to boil, add the Splenda and mix well.  Now add the cherry tomatoes, salt, cumin powder, fresh black pepper, minced scallions, minced jalapeno, and the cayenne pepper. Mix and stir everything well.

After 5 minute of cooking this, take a food crusher and crush the tomatoes as much as possible. Continue to cook on low to medium heat, until the time all the water has almost evaporated and you get a nice thick relish texture.

Note that this relish won’t have the gooey kind of texture since there is neither sugar nor pectin in the ingredient list.

Enjoy this sweet and spicy relish with baked chips, or add it as an ingredient to a sandwich, etc. An absolutely healthy and tasty relish!

Fennel/Apple/Pear Salad (Serves 3)

This is a re post from my other blog www.bigsrisfood.com that fits perfectly with the theme of this blog. Enjoy!

1 macintosh apple

1 sweet pear

fennel root same quantity

salt and pepper to taste

juice from 1 lemon

2 medium jalapeno peppers

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves chopped fine

I have been wanting to try this for a long time and got the perfect opportunity last week, when we had had the regular salad with the usual veggies for a few days in a row and needed a change.

Thinking about it for a few minutes, I felt that the combination of apple, pear and fennel would be real good. I didn't want to use red onions (the only ones we have at home) due to the pungency, hence went with the fennel root because of its sweet, unique taste and crunchiness that complements the apple and the pear.

This is a very quick salad to prepare and perfect just on its own, or as a starter food.

Cut the apple, pear and fennel root in small, roughly equal size pieces and set in a bowl. Retain the skin on the apple and the pear. Also, make sure that you cut the apple last, so as to not give it much time to oxidize (turn dark in this case), and you can pour the lemon juice as soon as you are done with the cutting.

Add juice from 1 lemon to this , salt and ground pepper to taste, 2 medium jalapeno peppers finely chopped, and chopped fresh coriander leaves. Give it all a mix and its ready to go.

Very simple, yet very tasty and healthy. Make sure the fruits are fresh and crunchy.