Red Lentil Soup

Hello friends! It’s been a long time–five years since I last wrote a post. Rather than go into a long story of where I’ve been for the past five years or how much the world has changed (OMG. Vegan food is everywhere!), I first want to make an offering: A simple, yet delicious recipe you can make in about 30 minutes. More soon. Enjoy!

Red Lentil Soup

Serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil (or small pool of olive oil in pot)
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp dill, dried
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp umami salt* (sub: sea salt)
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup red lentils, dried
1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped (stems removed)
2 tbsp lemon juice (or juice from one fresh lemon)**

In a large soup pot add a pool of olive oil over low-medium heat, add the diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cover with a lid and sweat for up to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

While the onions are sweating, mince your garlic

Turn heat up to medium-high, add the garlic and stir just once or twice before adding the ground cumin, dill, chili powder, salt, and tomato paste. Stir and combine well. Add vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, and lentils. Stir.

Cover and bring to a boil. Remove lid and reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the lentils are very tender and starting to fall apart. Turn off heat. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Add lemon juice. Stir to combine. Serve and enjoy.

For a hearty meal, serve over brown rice, farro, or your favorite grain.

* When I lived in the Bay Area I would buy umami seasoning at Oaktown Spice Shop, an amazing bulk spice shop that I could browse for hours. You can buy it online too. I don’t live there any more but Trader Joe’s sells an umami salt also. Not as fresh, but does the trick.

**I like to use fresh ingredients but having a bottle of lemon juice at the ready is handy too.

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Pumpkin Hominy and Bean Chili

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup green pepper, diced
1-1/2 cups cooked kidney beans (or a 15 oz. can, drained)
1 cup cooked hominy (or a 15 oz. can, drained)
1 can pumpkin puree
1 can roasted tomatoes, diced
2 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon chili powder, more or less to suit your taste buds
1 teaspoon sea salt

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until soft, about five minutes. Add the mushrooms and green pepper to the pot. Cook for another five minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed above. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for approximately 30 minutes. You may want to add more water, so keep an eye on the pot. If the chili becomes too thick, add more water as needed. Salt to taste and serve immediately. It’s delicious served with skillet corn bread from Veganomicon, which Well Vegan posted here.

Green Tip: Instead of buying canned foods, such as beans and hominy, try buying the dry version and cooking them beforehand in a pressure cooker. Buying foods in the bulk section, typically saves money and packaging that either needs to recycled or thrown away. Bring your own containers when you can.

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Recipe of the Week: A Beautiful Salad

From my sister’s kitchen…

Israeli Couscous and Radish Salad
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
1 cup couscous
1 bunch radishes, sliced thin
2 stalks of celery, sliced thin
1 bunch dill, chopped

Dressing
5 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp white pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the couscous according to the package instructions and let cool to room temperature. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and let chill in fridge until couscous is room temperature. Now mix the couscous with the radish, celery and dill in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad ingredients. Toss until the dressing covers the salad well, then serve.

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Quick and Easy Vegan Brownies

Update: A reader mentioned her batch didn’t turn out as moist as mine looked in the picture below, so I have updated the instructions. I always appreciate comments on recipes, so I can make them better for all of you.

Yesterday it was cold and snowy and I was craving chocolate — brownies to be specific. I found a recipe online and started baking. When you have a well-stocked kitchen, it’s easy to cook and bake on-demand. This recipe is adapted from A Delicious Healthy Vegan Recipe for the Common Brownie on Ecorazzi. I substituted apple sauce for the oil and added chocolate chips. My craving was definitely satisfied. Give it a try the next time you want a chocolate treat.

Quick and Easy Vegan Brownies

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup almond milk, unsweetened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Combine the dry ingredients and half of the walnuts in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients plus the chocolate chips and stir until evenly combined. The mixture will be thick. Add additional almond milk as needed to combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Secret tip: Ever since I learned to bake as a child, I almost always add more liquid than a recipe calls before. I follow the instructions and then add more liquid (water works most of the time) to the batter just before it’s ready to go into the baking dish. I mix the additional liquid into the batter and then pour it into the pan. The extra liquid tends to make for a moister end-product. In this recipe, I used extra almond milk as suggested above.

Spread into an ungreased 8×8 glass pan, top with the remaining 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30-35 minutes. To determine if they are done, insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies. If it comes out clean, they are done.

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Recipe of the Week: Mashed Cauliflower

A recipe from my sister’s kitchen

If you like comfort food on a cold winter evening, give this recipe a try. It’s a good substitute for mashed potatoes. Plus, it’s super easy to make.

Mashed Cauliflower
Serves 4-6

1 large head cauliflower, steamed
1/2 cup cannelini beans, cooked
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
1-1/2 tsp Spike seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp vegan cream cheese
2 tbsp vegan sour cream
Unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk or water, amount desired

Remove the stem and cut the cauliflower into medium-size pieces. Steam until tender. In a food processor, combine all ingredients and blend well. If you need to thin the mixture a bit, use a non-dairy milk or water as needed. The mixture should be thick like mashed potatoes when done. You can leave it a bit chunky if you prefer. Warm and serve.

Note: If you want to get more creative in the kitchen, you could substitute the olive oil, cream cheese and sour cream with cashew cream to create a healthier alternative.

This recipe was created by Cathy Corey.

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Sarah-Approved Israeli Couscous Salad

This is an easy and tasty salad I created on the fly. Turns out it was a hit. My fiance’s daughter loved it. It’s nice when someone appreciates your cooking, isn’t it?! We enjoyed it with Falafel sandwiches. Give it a try.

Israeli Couscous Salad
Serves 4-6

1 cup Israeli Couscous, cooked
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced in long strips
1/2 carrot, shredded
1 large radish, shredded
3 tbsp of green onion, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil (more if desired)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, parsley, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the couscous, cranberries, sun-dried tomatoes, carrot, radish, green onion and pine nuts. Add the dressing to the other ingredients and mix well. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving.

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Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I remember my mom cooking Brussels sprouts when I was a kid. She would cook them in water — not boil them exactly, but not sauté them either. I’m not really sure what she was doing with them but I do recall they smelled horrible. They stunk up the whole house!

It wasn’t until I was in my late 30’s that I tried roasted Brussels sprouts for the first time. To my delight, I’m a big fan and eat them often. My favorite way is to roast them and they don’t stink up the kitchen.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Before you can roast the sprouts, you need to cut the end piece off each sprout, remove any yellow leaves and cut in half. If they are large (think golf ball size), you should quarter them. Spray a metal baking pan with oil. In the baking pan, toss the sprouts with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, salt and pepper. I use one package of Brussels sprouts and I don’t measure the other ingredients. I use more balsamic vinegar than oil. I love garlic, so I may use up to four cloves. Play with the amounts to determine your preference. Sometimes I add pine nuts when we have them.

Bake on 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. I like my sprouts soft, so I tend to roast them longer than a lot of recipes state. I like to add a bit more balsamic just before serving.

Leftover roasted Brussels sprouts are really good. I like to add them to salads the next day (as shown above) or eat them all by themselves fresh out of the fridge. If you were scared off by this vegetable as a child, give it another try. You might find you enjoy them as I much I do.

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Tofu Salad

Tofu salad is a good substitute for egg salad. It’s great on sandwiches, in a wrap or over a bed of greens. Try this simple recipe if you’ve never made a tofu salad before.

Tofu Salad

1 package (14 oz) extra firm tofu, cubed
1 medium carrot, diced or shredded
1/4 cup dill pickle relish
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 tsp. Turmeric
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Press the tofu to remove the liquid. Chop it into to small cubes. Add diced carrots, relish, minced garlic and mayo. Mix well. Add more mayo if you want the salad to be creamier. Add Turmeric, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated. Chill in the fridge for about an hour  before serving. Enjoy!

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Homemade Kombucha

This is a guest post from Mania Labs. Bill (aka my fiance) is somewhat of a scientist in the kitchen. I mean, who else stocks pH test paper in their kitchen? He likes to make things and after buying too many $3.39 bottles of kombucha decided it was high time to brew his own. I’m lucky because now I have an endless supply of kombucha in my fridge. Bill attended two workshops and read several articles before he attempted to make kombucha. We have learned it’s a fairly simple process. You don’t need to be a scientist to make your own either. Give it a try. It’s rewarding to make things!

Kombucha is a fermented tea which has many purported health benefits. I make and drink it because: it may be a probiotic; it may contain beneficial vitamins; I want to drink green tea regularly; and I enjoy the taste, including the mild “bite” it provides. I usually mix it with something else, either fruit juice or plain green tea. For a more detailed description of kombucha and its history, see this article.

The process of making kombucha involves simply allowing a combination of yeast and bacteria to convert sugar into carbon dioxide and vinegar. The yeast/bacteria combination is called a SCOBY, which is an acronym for “symbiotic combination of bacteria and yeast”. The sugar used must be an actual sugar, not just a sweetener. Table sugar (sucrose) works best. Other sugars, such as honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, molasses or agave syrup will work, however, they have additional considerations. First, the timing will be different for each sugar. Also, the sugar must be sterile, in order to not interfere with the SCOBY. Lastly, the flavor of the kombucha will be different.

For the simplest kombucha, here’s the list of tools and ingredients.

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Recipe of the Week: Rice Pudding and a Giveaway

If you don’t have a slow cooker, you should consider getting one. You can make delicious food without much effort. I use my slow cooker often. It was only five bucks at a yard sale. (By the way, yard sales rock and so do used book sales. More on that later.)

I own one slow cooker recipe book, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: 200 Recipes for Healthy and Hearty One-Pot Meals that are Ready When You Are by Robin Robertson. I’ve only cooked one recipe in my slow cooker that wasn’t from this cookbook. One of my favorite recipes in this book is a rice pudding. It’s easy to make and Robin gave me permission to share it with you.

Before I do that, I want to mention that Robin has a new slow cooker recipe book coming out soon called Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker: 200 Ultra-Convenient, Super-Tasty, Completely Animal-Free One-Dish Dinners. Notice the difference in the title? Love it!

Brown Rice Pudding with Golden Raisins and Toasted Almonds
Serves 4 to 6
Slow cooker size: 3-1/2 to 4 quarts
Cook time: 3 to 4 hours
Setting: Low

2-1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1-1/2 cups vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar or a natural sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup golden raisins or other dried fruit
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Combine all the ingredients, except the raisins and almonds, in a lightly oiled 3-1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker, stirring to mix well. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, stirring once about halfway through — add the raisins at this time.

Serve warm or cold garnished with the toasted almonds.

It’s Easy Being Vegan Note: I have made this recipe numerous times and have made the following adaptations with success:

• Used unsweetened vanilla soy milk
• Used dark raisins
• Used an equal amount of maple syrup instead of brown sugar
• Skipped the salt
• Used raw almonds, skipped the toasting.
• Added the almonds when I mixed in the raisins.

Now for the Giveaway Just for Subscribers!

As I mentioned I got my slow cooker at a yard sale. I have found some great things at yard sales. I also love used book sales. The Newberry Library in Chicago hosts a huge annual used book sale. This year I found a copy of Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker for a steal. It looks brand new. Since I already have a copy, I would like to give it away to a subscriber. For a chance to win the book, subscribe to receive blog post updates by email (not RSS feed) below. If you are already an email subscriber, you are automatically entered — lucky you! Contest closes on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 5:00am CDT. I will notify the winner via email. Contest open to US residents only.

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Quick and Easy Breakfast

Oatmeal is a breakfast staple in my home. I usually cook two cups of rolled oats at a time which yields five large servings. I store the leftovers in individual glass containers that we can reheat and eat quickly the next day. This makes breakfast really simple and healthy. I typically eat it with fresh, chopped fruit. It tastes good and keeps me full until lunch time. If you want to start your day on a healthy note, give it a try!

A Simple Oatmeal Breakfast

1 small peach or nectarine, chopped

1 cup rolled oats, cooked

1/3 cup unsweetened, vanilla-flavored almond milk

Chopped pecans, optional

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Recipe of the Week: Old Fashioned (Tofu) Chicken Salad

I’m in love with this tofu salad from fatfreevegan.com. It’s an easy recipe and tastes great. The baked tofu by itself is good too. Next time I make it I plan to double the tofu and marinade — saving half the baked tofu to use on salads, wraps and sandwiches. Give it a try!

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Tasty Vegan Ranch Dressing

This is a repost from 2009. I recently made this recipe and it’s a good one worth sharing again. Easy vegan tip: Double the recipe to use on salads all week. Making the dressing in advance not only saves you time but money as well. While you’re in the kitchen, be sure to chop your salad fixings for the week too. Now you have an easy vegan meal ready to eat in about five minutes. Enjoy!

Several people have also asked for the vegan ranch dressing recipe I have used on the Eat to Live plan. This is my adaptation of the Tofu Ranch Dressing/Dip recipe found in Eat for Health (Book 2, page 163). I switched up the spices in favor of my taste buds. If you keep the base of tofu, dates, and water, you can change-up the spices to your liking too.

Vegan Ranch Dressing
Serves 4

• 6 oz. silken tofu
• 3 dates, pitted
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 c. chopped green onions
• 3 tbsp. water
• 2 tbsp. fresh squeeze lemon juice
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1-2 tbsp. fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. dill
• 2 tbsp. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (found at Whole Foods and other natural food stores; substitute with low-sodium soy sauce if not available)
• 1 tsp. cayenne or other hot pepper spice (This may be too spicy for some. A pinch may be better.)

Add all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. This dressing only has about 2 grams of fat per serving.

About fat and salads — Yesterday I stopped by VeganMania to hear Dr. Greger speak. (Dr. Greger reads about 5,000 nutritional studies a year. He knows his stuff when it comes to nutrition.) He mentioned that you need fat in your salad to help with digestion, so low-fat or fat-free dressings are not always a good idea unless you add nuts, seeds, or avocados to your salad. I typically have nuts on my salad, so using a low-fat dressing is fine. What ‘s important to remember is fat is good if it’s in moderation and the good kind of fat, i.e. from nuts, seeds, or avocados.

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Quick & Easy Nutty Breakfast Porridge

Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds, and Walnuts On Top

Nutty breakfast porridge will warm your soul on a cold morning. It’s rich and delicious. Traditionally porridge is made with oatmeal but I use brown rice here.

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My Favorite Muffin Recipe: Almond-Quinoa Muffins

Just Out of the Oven

Vegan cookbooks sit on various shelves all over my kitchen and then some end up in my boyfriend’s kitchen for month’s at a time. Veganomicon is one of those cookbooks. One Sunday, Bill flipped through the book and decided on the Almond Quinoa muffins. We’ve made them regularly ever since. In fact I often see other muffin recipes I want to try but never seem to get past this one. It’s that good.

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