Another advantage of cooking Indian at home is that you can go totally crazy, too.  Crazy in the foodie-sense, of course.  Have you ever seen an Indian dish with noodles? Italian meets Indian. Sounds like a perfect description of Joanne, who shared the lovely recipe.

Here, we have spiced zucchini and chickpea meatballs (aka kofta) that are baked, not fried. They are served overtop a tomato-curry sauce. The next question was what to serve this with. You could go with rice to return to the Indian base, but Joanne served it with polenta. I wanted to continue with the Indian spaghetti theme. Therefore, I used zucchini noodles and made a raw almond parmesan topping. Cooked meets raw. Zucchini on zucchini. Craziness, pure craziness,  I tell you… but all in a good way.

If you think I am just tooting my own horn, I urge you to try our favourite Indian dishes and decide yourself:

Nepalese Mountain Lentil Curry (Dal Bhat)
Split Pea Dal with Ginger and Lime
Indian Lentils with Spinach (Dal Palak)
Plantain, Cabbage and Coconut Curry with Split Pigeon Peas (Indian Cabbage and Plantain Kootu)
Cumin-Scented Pigeon Peas with Mango (Mango Curry with Toor Dal)
Indian Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes with Chickpeas (Baingan Bharta with Chickpeas)
Indian Eggplant and Lentil Curry (Dal Bhat Meets Baingan Bharta)
Butternut Squash, Coconut, and Lentil Stew (Aarti’s Indian Summer Stew)
Cauliflower, Spinach and Chickpea Balti
Tamarind Lentils
Indian Chickpea and Collard Roulade with a Tomato-Mustard Sauce
Malai Koftas with Chaat Masala
Baked Lemon Cilantro Pakoras

This is my submission to this month’s Pasta Please for nuts and to this month’s Pantry Party for cheese.

Zucchini “Meatballs” and Tomato-Curry Sauce with Almond Parmesan (aka Vegan Indian Spaghetti and ‘Meatballs’)
Adapted from Joanne Eats Well with Others, who adapted it from Madhur Jaffrey’s World of the East Vegetarian Cooking

4 medium zucchini, about 2 pounds, divided (or 1.25 lbs zucchini plus pasta)
1/2 tsp salt
1 hot green chili, seeded and minced
2 large onions, peeled and very finely minced (3 tbsp finely minced onion reserved)
1.5 tsp peeled and very finely grated ginger
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/3 cup chickpea flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp Aleppo chile flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
14 oz can of whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 cup almond milk (or your choice of nondairy milk)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt, to taste
1/4 cup almond Parmesan (recipe here)

1. Wash, trim and grate half of the zucchinis.  Place it into a colander and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt.  Set the colander overtop a bowl and allow to drain for half an hour or more.

2. Preheat your oven to 400F.

3. Using a spatula press out as much liquid as possible, reserving the liquid for your sauce.

4. Combine the dried zucchini with the green chili, 3 tbsp onion, grated ginger, and parsley.  Sift the chickpea flour over the vegetable mixture.  Mix well and form into 16 balls, approximately 1″ in diameter, squeezing them tight.

5. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush olive oil overtop the zucchini balls.  Place on a silpat or parchment paper on a large baking pan.  Bake for 40 minutes, turning once halfway through.

6. Meanwhile, prepare your sauce.  In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp olive oil.  When hot, add the remainder of the minced onions.  Stir and saute for 7-8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn brown at the edges.  Add the turmeric, cayenne, ground cumin, and ground coriander, stirring for another 5 seconds.  Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the zucchini juice (about 1 cup, adding more water if necessary). Increase heat and bring to a boil.  Cover, lower heat and let the sauce simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the almond milk, garam masala, 1/2 tsp cumin, and salt to taste, stirring to incorporate.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

7. With your 2 remaining zucchini, spiralize them. Or go boil your pasta. Set aside until needed.

8. Meanwhile, prepare your almond Parmesan (recipe here).

9. To serve, plate zucchini noodles, cover with tomato sauce, top with zucchini meatballs and sprinkle with almond Parmesan.

Serves 2.

In her interview, Allison mentioned she wanted to host cookbook challenges. Anyone could join in on the fun, documenting their experience with the recipes. The first cookbook she chose? Vegan Indian Cooking.

I have tried (baked) pakoras and besan/khaman dhokla. For the cookbook challenge, I made these baked veggie squares.  This is a fusion of the two dishes. A mix of shredded veggies are combined with chickpea flour and silken tofu. It is spiced with standard Indian fare. Since I chose to bake them in a larger container, they were more thin. However, they remained moist and flavourful. The tofu added a chewy egginess. If you like heat, add more chiles. For me, this was perfect. Topped with a bit of tamarind chutney, these were a delicious snack.

The kindle version of Vegan Indian Cooking was recently available for free. However, it was only for US customers so I missed my chance to snag it. A bit of searching led me to find a pdf version on the publisher’s website, though. The full cookbook is available here.  Now you can have your own copy, too! Perfect! Please join in the first cookbook challenge. You can find recipe reviews from Vegan Indian Cooking on Vegansprout here.

Do you ever challenge yourself to try new recipes in a cookbook, too?

Baked Veggie Squares (Tukri Pakora)
Adapted from Vegan Indian Cooking (original recipe available here)

2 cups (140g) grated cabbage
1 cup (100g) grated cauliflower
1 cup (127g) grated zucchini
1/2 cup (75g) diced onion
2 tbsp ginger root, minced or grated
1 green Thai chile, seeds removed and chopped
1/4 cup minced cilantro
3 cups chickpea flour (besan)
6 oz (1/2 package) silken tofu (I used extra-firm)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp Aleppo chile flakes
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup oil of choice

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Oil a 9×13″ baking pan and set aside. A smaller dish will give you thicker bars.

3. In a large bowl, combine the shredded cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, onion, ginger, chiles and cilantro. Stir in the chickpea flour and mix until well combined. Set aside.

4. In a food processor or blender, blend the tofu until smooth.

5. Add the blended tofu into the vegetable mixture. Stir in the salt, turmeric, chile flakes, baking powder, and oil. Mix until just combined.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan.

7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 350F (mine took 40 minutes since I use a larger pan).  It is ready when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8. Cool for 10 minutes and cut into squares. Serve with your favorite chutney (I used tamarind chutney).

Makes 30 squares.

Instead, I was immersed back into work and fun at a break-neck pace.

It wasn’t entirely conscious, but I definitely kept myself well distracted as I waited for my results.

I had to ramp up for that big bike ride. (And I so want to give that bike ride a post it deserves)

We saw friends we hadn’t seen since I went into exam hibernation. Rob and I had dates that included musicals and concerts.

On the errands that are still fun, Rob and I mapped out our road trip; booking our accommodations and figuring out which cities have Trader Joe’s (HA!).

The list of things to do for our move never ceases. Book movers and pods, obtain visas, social security numbers. Get a US dollar bank account, flip cash into American funds, change addresses, suspend gym memberships. Make sure we both have benefits. Become officially common-law. Get everything ready to import our car.

Oh, and pack.

Nothing that is too difficult on its own, simply time consuming.

Death by a thousand paper cuts, as Rob puts it.

I haven’t been cooking too much, either. Pulling out freezer meals and eating out a bit more. Cooking up simple grains and tossing with a random assortment of veggies. Discovering fun sauces in the fridge.

This was a fun snack/side I made with some leftover rice. Basically it is a ball of sushi rice, seasoned with rice vinegar and filled with a touch of umeboshi paste, a Japanese spread from pickled plums. I squished the rice into a hard ball with the help of plastic wrap and kept it wrapped until I ate them for lunch. For your viewing pleasure, I played around with strips of nori to make fun faces, although the rest of my balls used wider strips of nori more practically, to keep my hands clean. Use a simple soy dipping sauce, or go all out with a homemade ponzu sauce which has citrus notes to the salty base.

Happy faces, all around, I must say.

I can now add 5 more letters to the end of my name: FRCPC.
(Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians of Canada)

Japanese Umeboshi Rice Balls (Onigiri)

2 cups cooked short-grain Japanese brown rice
1-2 tsp rice vinegar
1-2 tsp umeboshi plum paste
nori sheets
sesame seeds, toasted

ponzu sauce, for dipping

1. Allow rice to cool slightly. Mix in rice vinegar.

2. Place a piece of plastic wrap overtop a cup. Add 1/4 cup rice and make a well in the middle. Add a touch of the umeboshi plum paste (a little goes a long way, I added around 1/4 tsp per onigiri). Add a bit more rice and squish into a ball, twisting the plastic wrap together. You can press it into different shapes if you like. (A good photo tutorial is here). Remove form plastic wrap and cover with strips of nori, decorating as you see fit. Sprinkle and press in toasted sesame seeds.

3. Dip into ponzu sauce and enjoy.

Serves 4 as a side.

Another one of the meals The Dish featured was Ravisoup’s Corn chowder with blue crab and Thai basil. It fared pretty well: 288 calories, 14g of fat…. but 1763 mg of sodium. Holy moley!

I have been reducing my sodium gradually over the past year and my sodium culprits are not table salt itself; instead it is soy sauce, miso and sauerkraut. Because of that, I still eat a lot more sodium than my parents. Packaged foods use salt as a preservative, thus canned and prepared foods generally contain more sodium. But Ravi’s soup is supposed to be homemade. He shared his (healthy) recipe. The numbers just don’t add up. Thus the culprit must be over-salting (and the red curry paste).

While Ravi suddenly passed away a few months ago, he leaves behind a quaint resto chain which serves delicious soups and sandwiches.  I haven’t been in a (very long) while, but it was a sure-fire bargain on Friday evenings when everything was half-priced before they closed for the weekend. I remember one of their soups of the day, an uber delicious butternut squash soup with lemongrass that I wanted to recreate but it has since become a distant memory.

Another one of Ravi’s soups on my ‘To Make List’ has been his Curried Red Lentil and Apricot Soup. I would categorize this as the other kind of Indian food. If I have to tell you this is a curried soup, then it isn’t from India.

However, it has all the components of a great Indian dish: red lentils, tomato, a touch of coconut milk, garlic, ginger and curry powder. The dried apricots are what hold me from thinking this is an authentic Indian dish, but they work really well here. Chopped up in small pieces, you get bursts of sweetness that complement the savoury elements of the rest of the dish. Creaminess comes from the red lentils and just a hint of coconut milk. This soup is more sweet and bright than the cumin-scented pigeon pea soup with mango that I adore but it likely depends on the curry powder you use.

I know the dried apricots seem so odd, but they work surprisingly well. For some reason, their sweetness permeates the soup without being too overpowering. The leftovers were even better as the sweetness subsided slightly. Dried apricots can pack a bona fide punch of taste, so if in doubt, use less dried apricots.

Straight from their menu, though, this curried red lentil and apricot soup is so easy to make, it behooves you to make it yourself.. and with a lot less sodium.

This is my submission to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays, this month’s Everyone Can Cook Vegetarian for orange foods, and Little Thumbs Up event, hosted by Eats Well in Flanders, organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen for my little favourite D.I.Y.

Ravi’s Curried Red Lentil and Apricot Soup
Adapted from The Toronto Star, courtesy of Ravi Soups

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp finely chopped, peeled ginger
1 tbsp mild curry powder
1/2 cup tomato, cored, chopped (I used 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes)
1/3 cup dried apricots, diced
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
4 cups water
1/3 cup coconut milk
Salt + ground black pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro, to garnish

1. In large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Once hot, add onions and saute for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden.  Reduce heat to medium-low and add the garlic and ginger, stirring to cook, for 2 minutes.

2. Add the curry powder; cook 1 minute. Add tomato, apricots, lentils and water and bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer and cook until the lentils are soft, approximately 30 minutes.

3. Stir in coconut milk. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your desired consistency (I left mine partially pureed).

4. Taste and season with salt and pepper. To serve, sprinkle with cilantro.

Serves 4.

Rob and I have been good about eating through the freezer and pantry. While I no longer have a white board with the freezer inventory (it was such a good idea but we lost track), we generally pick up a container, look at the label, pick our favourite of the day and chow down.

Trust me, I am very diligent about labelling freezer meals.

I am not sure why I don’t do the same with my fridge foods. I don’t store too many things in the fridge but sometimes I forget about salad dressings or marinades pushed to the back. My rationale is probably: Well, this is fresh food. I’ll remember what it is before it grows mold.

Not true.

Some fridge finds are still happy in my fridge for months. Possibly years, although I can’t say for sure. Since now I can’t remember what it was and when I made it.

Mystery ingredients.

My mystery concoction looked like roasted and ground nuts. Likely with some spices. It passed the sniff test. Not entirely sure what it is, I have two options: almonzano (unlikely because it doesn’t taste similar) or dukkah. Or something I just don’t remember making, which is also a possibility. Dukkah is an Egyptian nut and spice mix with cumin, coriander and sesame seeds but there are many variations. The New York Times recently shared recipes for dukkah with peanuts, pumpkin seeds, chickpea flour and even an herbal variation with mint and fennel. While I have included a link to my favourite dukkah recipe that includes coconut, I am fairly confident this was a different variation. I *think* this is the hazelnut dukkah from Vegan Eats World, which is more nut-heavy than spice-heavy. I prefer more spices than nuts, so that the flavours really pop, but the lack of spices did not hold back here.

This salad started off a bit ho-hum, with a simple favour profile: cucumbers, chickpeas, quinoa, lemon and balsamic. It was nice, but not something to rave about… I wanted to add some chopped almonds but instead sprinkled the mystery nut blend overtop and it definitely brought this to a wow dish. The lemon really accents and highlights the spices. It tastes great and yet I still cannot confirm what is in this mix.

So for now, let’s assume it is dukkah and enjoy it for all it is worth.

How do you keep track of your food? Do you subscribe to “if I can’t remember what I made, then I probably shouldn’t be eating it?” rule?

Here are other recipes with dukkah:

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Dukkah
Maple and Dukkah Roasted Sweet Potatoes from Olive Magazine
Roasted Carrot Soup with Dukkah from Bon Appetit
Bulgur Bowl With Spinach, Mushrooms and Middle Eastern Nut and Spice Seasoning from New York Times
Dukkah-Spiced Green Beans and Mushrooms from Anja’s Food For Thought
Roasted Squash with Tahini and Dukkah at Lisa’s Kitchen

This is my submission to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays.

Lemony Cucumber and Chickpea Salad with Dukkah
Inspired by Eat Spin Run and Repeat

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed well
3/4 cups vegetable broth or water
1.75 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained if canned
3 cups chopped cucumber (500g, 1.5 English cucumbers)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I used white balsamic)
zest and juice from 1 lemon (1/4 cup)
salt, to taste

4 tbsp dukkah, (I think this was the one from Vegan Eats World which is a different recipe), or the following:

1.5 tbsp blanched almonds, toasted and finely chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1.5 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1.5 tsp sesame seeds, toasted and ground
1 tbsp unsweetened dried shredded coconut, toasted and ground
pinch salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper

1. Prepare your quinoa: Bring water or vegetable broth to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add quinoa. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Keep covered for an additional 5 minutes to steam. Set aside.

2. If making your dukkah, now, separately toast the almonds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds and coconut. Grind each individually, then combine all together with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. Combine cooked quinoa, chickpeas, cucumbers, lemon juice and vinegar in a bowl. Add salt to taste and sprinkle with dukkah.

Serves 4.

When I started my blog almost 4 years ago, I was a flexitarian, consuming occasional fish and rarely meat. Gradually, I ate more vegetarian meals and eventually switched to an entirely vegan diet and later it morphed to be plant-based vegan. During that transition, I branched out to different sources to figure out what vegan meals were all about and it was then that I looked at vegan cookbooks and scoured reviews for suggested recipes. If I wanted this to work, I wanted to make sure I was eating flavourful foods. I didn’t want to waste expensive ingredients or risk having no food to eat, either. Which recipes should I try first?

This was how I met Allison, who enjoys reviewing her way through recipes as much as me. Over the past year, she and her husband have been working on a very neat website: Vegansprout. I urge you to check it out and contribute. In short, it is a website which compiles reviews of all things vegan. There are the cookbooks (129 right now) AND recipes (yes, Allison typed up the individual recipes from all the cookbooks) as expected, but also other vegan products like pantry items, drinks, chocolate, beauty products like lip balm, etc.

What should you make first from Appetite for Reduction? Want to know what is good to buy from Trader Joe’s? What is your favourite flavour of Mary’s Gone Crackers? Your favourite Yogi tea?

When I first went vegan, I was worried about milk substitutes. The soy milk Rob typically bought was terrible and I was concerned nothing would taste good. Someone told to try them all out until I found something that I enjoyed. At the beginning, because there were so many choices, it felt overwhelming. However, it worked out in the long-run because now I know what I like. Having a website like Vegansprout facilitates the review process: it is organized and you can find what others recommend, as well.

So why am I highlighting the website? There is power in numbers. Add in your thoughts. Let others know what you think. Save others from buying Natura soy milk and suggest your favourite, in turn.

Enough from me, though. I thought I would ask Allison some questions about her (totally free) website.

Janet: What is Vegansprout?

Allison: Vegansprout.com is a very unique site where you can read and write reviews for all things vegan! We currently have a ginormous database of brands, vegan products, vegan cookbooks and their recipes listed, but there’s room (and plans!) to add so much more. It’s a very recently launched site, but I hope that with the growing content and members posting reviews, it can become an extremely valuable resource to both vegans and not-yet-vegans! We already have close to 4,000 user reviews, so it’s an amazing start. I think it’s really important to make more responsible purchases by reading reviews first, and equally important to help others by sharing your personal experiences-even just a few words can be so helpful. Same goes for when you’re trying to figure out what to make for your next meal! If someone is transitioning to veganism, or maybe just beginning to think about it, seeing that there are tens of thousands+ recipes and products available can make it that much easier.

How did you come up with the idea for Vegansprout?

My husband is a software developer, and was looking to make something that I would like to see in the world, and that could also potentially benefit others. I’ve loved reading and writing reviews on some great vegan forums over the past few years, so I thought it would be great to have a site completely devoted to vegan reviews. I also wanted a place that would not only have the reviews to talk about great things, but also lots of great vegan recipe images to go along with them, and show how delicious vegan food is. Thankfully, I have a lot of great vegan friends who helped us during the beta phase, and who have been diligent about posting lots of initial reviews!

Vegansprout is unique because there is no other place to go to specifically review vegan things. There are great vegan reviews out there on blogs and sprinkled on other large sites, but nothing else that allows users to easily contribute and become part of a new vegan community. Aside from the reviews, there is also no other place to go just to easily browse and search the multitude of vegan products and cookbooks available! I think vegans specifically love to talk about food they’ve made, recipes they’ve tried, and new cruelty-free products they’ve bought (because it’s all so awesome!), and I think having it all succinctly compiled together in 1 spot was something really missing from the other vegan (and review) communities.

What do you love most about Vegansprout?

I absolutely love just having everything in one spot! I can go to vegansprout and start typing in the search bar (my favorite feature of the site), and I already have so many things to choose from. The search is great because you can do a broad search, (say for “chocolate”) pick the chocolate category, and you’ll get about 950 results from that product category alone, or you can narrow it down by doing a search for “veganomicon cutlets,” and you’ll get the 2 cutlet recipe names from Veganomicon instantly right there. I also just love seeing new reviews coming in, and comparing several different user reviews for one thing. I think it’s great that you can find out about smaller vegan companies who aren’t yet as well known, but who might end up having your favorite lip balm or ice cream or wallet, or whatever thing. I want to have a huge spectrum of things listed from all over the world, and help support the vegan community as a whole!

Yes! I already knew that there were tons of great vegan products and recipes out there, but I’m still amazed at just.how.many. There’s a never-ending list of vegan choices out there for basically anything you’re looking to buy, cook, or bake. As more reviews come in, it will only become more and more helpful. I also like to check cookbook recipe name listings for “known typos” before cooking. A lot of authors are really helpful in posting cookbook errata on their websites and blogs, but I think it’s useful to now have everything compiled all in one place together for quick viewing. I also love browsing and sorting by average rating or most reviewed to quickly find the highest rated things-I’ve already bought some things to try them just because of a couple of awesome vegansprout reviews! I’ll also often type in the search an ingredient I want to use for dinner just to see all the recipe names that come up..it sometimes helps me decide what to make!

Wow, hard. I have a huge shelf of favorites, but I think my all-time all around favorites remain Veganomicon, Appetite for Reduction, Viva Vegan, Vegan Diner, Vegan Pie in the Sky, and American Vegan Kitchen. I know I also have a lot of new favorites on the shelf that I haven’t had a chance to cook a lot from yet! There are so many great vegan cookbook authors out there-truly a book perfect for everyone!

Do you have any other ideas for Vegansprout? What’s brewing in the background?

Tons of ideas! I think I’m most excited about adding blogs and blog recipe names up for review, as well as vegan restaurants. We’re also throwing around other ideas like making the community even stronger with a forum, achievement badges, cookbook challenges, and possibly an author spotlight feature, just to name a few.

Thank you so much, Allison!

What do you think? Are you a fan of checking out reviews beforehand?

Is it harder to get kids or adults to try new foods?

I am not a parent yet, but I know I was a pretty picky eater as a child. I was definitely better at eating my fruits and veggies than my brother, but we both drove our Mom crazy.

Now the roles are reversed. I am the one eating so many different foods and sharing them with my parents.

Quinoa, possibly my favourite (pseudo)grain, has been a hard sell for my parents. To be fair, in Ottawa, the quinoa never seemed to cook properly. It was mushy and water-logged. I don’t know what was so different but it was a recurring theme. I recommended my standard technique: using less liquid (broth is more flavourful) and then let it sit, lid closed, to steam and help fluff it up. Another option (albeit more fussy) is to partially cook it, drain it and then steam the quinoa.

I thought my Mom had given up on quinoa altogether. I was surprised when I spotted quinoa in her pantry.

Turns out she had finally found a recipe she liked after my sister-in-law served it. Lucky for me, my Mom decided to treat me to her new favourite quinoa recipe.

The main flavours were classic: lemon and thyme. The difference was in the quinoa. First it was rinsed, dried, toasted, cooked in a minimal amount of broth and then steamed with a towel. I typically use a 1.75:1 broth:quinoa ratio but this was much closer to 1:1. This results in no-mush quinoa. The kernels are separate and flavourful. Due to the limited liquid, you might notice they do not become as big and not as voluminous. They are also not water-logged.

I like to include a lot of vegetables in my meals, so instead of adding them directly to the quinoa pilaf, I served mine with grilled asparagus and grilled balsamic mushrooms. My Dad, very generously, donated cut-up asparagus as pupils and a uni-nostril to complete my happy meal. He is not a fan of asparagus, so I gladly ate his offering. Maybe we are all picky kids at heart?

Did you have any rough starts with some foods in your kitchen?

This is my submission to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays.

PS, I think I may need new glasses. These photos look fuzzy. Oh well, too lazy to fix that!

Quinoa Pilaf with Lemon and Thyme
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook (original recipe here)

1 onion, minced
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1.5 cups quinoa, rinsed and dried on a towel
1.25 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley, basil, cilantro or scallions (we used scallions this time)

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Once hot, add onion and sprinkle with salt. Saute until the onion is softened,  around 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Add dried quinoa, increase the heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, until the quinoa is lightly toasted and aromatic, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the broth, lemon zest and thyme and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the quinoa has absorbed the broth, around 16-18 minutes.

4. Remove the pot from the heat and place a clean folded kitchen towel across the top of the pot and replace the lid. Let sit for 10 minutes, then fluff the quinoa with a fork. Stir in the lemon juice and scallions or fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Serves 6 as a side.

I am on a kasha-kick. At least until my stash runs out.

The millet evaporated last summer. Next went the wild rice. Now I am plowing through the kasha. Once I discovered the boil-in-a-bag stuff, I was smitten with it as a base for veggie-based bowls.

With a focus on simpler meals, I made the dressing first and then decided what to toss with it.

And yes, this was a glorious dressing.

It seems so weird. Raw onion? Dill? Miso?

But trust me, it worked so well. I also tried a creamier version with tofu-cashew mayonnaise and liked that, too.

I picked kasha, but any grain would work here. Brown rice? Quinoa? Choose your favourite veggie but broccoli complemented the tangy dill-miso dressing well.

This is my submission to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays, this month’s Random Recipe for healthy foods and to this month‘s Herbs on Saturday.

Broccoli and Kasha Bowl with an Onion-Miso-Dill Dressing
Dressing adapted from Radiance 4 Life

100g packet of kasha (or 1/2 cup coarse kasha, picked over and rinsed, to be boiled with 1 cup vegetable broth or water) — quinoa would work well here, too
1 -2 heads of broccoli, florets cut into small pieces

1/4 cup onion
1 tbsp flax oil (or your choice of oil)
1 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp low-sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried dillweed)

optional: 1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used this tofu-cashew mayonnaise)

1. For the boil-in-a-bag kasha, fill a medium pot half-way with salted water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and submerge the bag of kasha. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until plump and tender. Remove bag from water, rinse in cold water and set aside to cool.

2. Steam broccoli for 2-3 minutes, until tender crisp.

3. Prepare dressing by combining in a blender until smooth.

4. Mix together cooked kasha, steamed broccoli and drizzle with dressing.

Serves 2.

Guys, I am thrilled to tell you about my latest favourite cookbook. It has a lot of my favourites things: all vegan, lots of beans, mostly plant-based with options for those that need their meals to be gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free or oil-free. I am a big proponent of beans (cheap, tasty and healthy protein) and was wondering who would be the smart cookie to make the first vegan bean cookbook.

Kathy Hester is the genius behind this and honestly, I am blown away by the cookbook. I want to make the majority of the recipes but I cannot decide where to start. They span the gamut from breakfast beans to beany desserts and everything in between. The dishes run the spectrum from Indian to Jamaican and Mexican to French and Moroccan, focusing on traditionally vegan meals along with creative uses for beans (fudgesicles!). Since the meals typically call for cooked beans, they are mostly easy, quick dishes, too. Here are the chapters and a few sample dishes (a complete recipe list can be found here):

• The Beautiful Bean: Basics, How-Tos and Recipes To Keep Your Food Budget in Check
  -Baked Crispy Chickpea Seitan Patties, Bean Chorizo Crumbles, Sweet Red Bean Paste
• Morning Beans: Beany Breakfast and Brunch Dishes
  -Almost-a-Meal Black Bean Tamale Muffins, Sausage-Spiced Savoury Pancakes, Roasted Root Veggie and Kidney Bean Hash, Red Bean-Filled Baked Donuts
• Noshy Beans: Appetizers, Dips, and Spreads
  -Creamy Spinach Artichoke White Bean Dip, Pepita Black Bean Dip, Beany Eggplant Bruschetta Spread
• Nutritious Soups: Easy and Delicious One-Bowl Meals
  -Hutterite Soup, Thai Coconut Tongue of Fire Soup, Salsa Fresca White Bean Gazpacho, Triple Lentil Soup with Wheat Berries
• Cool Beans: Legume-Centric Salads
  -Salsa Quinoa Salad, Lentil Beet Salad, Chickpea Greek Salad with Tofu Feta
• Portable Beans: Sandwiches, Patties and More
  -Mango Curry Chickpea Salad, Don’t be Crabby Cakes, Butternut Squash Frijoles, Baked Arugula and Bean Flautas
• Sultry Stews and Hearty Chilies: Quintessential Bean Dishes
  -Chickpea Veggie Tagine, Indian Cauliflower Lentil Stew, Solstice Beans with Pumpkin and Greens, Margarita Chili Beans, Apple Baked Beans, Hard Cider-Sauced Beans, Tomato Rosemary White Beans
• Casseroles, Pastas, and More: One Dish Meals
  -Flageolet Cassoulet, Lentil Quinoa Bolognese Sauce, Chickpea and Vegetable Lo Mein, Creamy Healthified Vodka Sauce, Oven Chickpea and Seasonal Veggie Biryani
• Bean-a-licious Sweet Treats: Desserts that Love Beans
  -Black Eyed Pea-nut Butter Pie, Ginger Red Bean Popsicles, Black Bean Fudgesicles, Cherry Basil Crumble Bars, Chocolate Summer Squash Cake

Kathy explains the basics of the standard beans, along with variations for specialty heirloom beans. Until you buy pretty, specialty beans, you may not understand the lure to not cook with them. They are just so pretty and recipes never suggest using Tongues of Fire beans, or Hutterite soup beans, or Good Mother Stallard beans. Here, Kathy breaks down the anxiety. She describes which beans are in each family and therefore can be easily exchanged, while still not alienating those without access to specialty beans.

Good Mother Stallard beans are in a league of their own, though. They are in the “interesting shapes” category along with ayocote negro and Goat’s Eye beans. Kathy explains Good Mother Stallard beans are football-shaped and create a “perfect pot liquor”. She suggests using them as a fancy bean substitute in certain dishes that call for chickpeas and kidney beans, or using them plainly as in this dish to experience they real, naked taste.

I decided to dust off my pretty Good Mother Stallard beans and put them to the test. A simple pot of beans spiced with rosemary, bay leaves and carrots. Steve from Rancho Gordo suggests these may be his favourite bean and after a simple simmer, I can see why. Delicious mouth feel. The beans have a thicker skin which keeps the bean’s shape while the inside is creamy and sweet. There is a lot more going on with this bean than one would expect and thankfully these beans retain their colourful markings even after being cooked. Kathy suggested eating the beans as-is, with bread or a grain.

I bought my Good Mother Stallard beans from Rancho Gordo, but Kathy has as extensive list of other retailers, too. I normally retype all the recipes I share, but Kathy’s publisher has given me permission to share this recipe. Looking at it below will give you an idea about the attention to detail in this book: flexible bean substitutes, optional slow cooker directions as well as complete nutritional information.

I really want to share this cookbook with you. Thankfully the publisher is letting me giveaway a cookbook to one reader living in the US or Canada. To be entered, please leave a message here, telling me about your favourite bean dish. I will randomly select a winner on June 30. For more chances to win, check out the other bloggers that are featuring Kathy’s cookbook this month as part of her blog tour. You can follow along on Kathy’s website here. Good luck!

This is my submission to Healthy Vegan Fridays and to this month’s My Legume Love Affair, hosted by One Hot Stove.

Note: I was given a complimentary copy of this book to review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Good Mother Stallard Beans
From The Great Vegan Bean Book, by Kathy Hester

soy-free gluten-free oil-free

This is a simple recipe, but unlike most of the recipes in this book, it does not use precooked beans. The best part of this is the beautiful broth, called pot liquor, that the beans make as they cook. This is my favorite way to feature many heirloom beans, but especially Good Mother Stallard beans.

2 cups (430 g) dried Good Mother Stallard beans, rinsed and picked through
6 cups (1.4 L) water
2 bay leaves
1 (2 inch, or 5 cm) sprig fresh rosemary
2 carrots, diced (peeled if not organic)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Stove-top Directions

1. Add everything except the salt and pepper to a soup pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and decrease the heat to medium- low. Cook until the beans are tender, 2 to 3 hours. If your beans are older, it can take as much as twice as long.

2. Add salt and pepper, remove the bay leaves and herb sprig, and then dig into a bowl of home-cooked goodness!

Slow Cooker Directions

1. Add everything except the salt and pepper to the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 to 10 hours. When finished, add salt and pepper and remove the bay leaves and herb sprig.

Yield: 6 servings
Per 1-cup (235 ml) serving: 95.8 calories; 0.4 g total fat; 0.1 g saturated fat; 5.1 g protein; 18.7 g carbohydrate; 6.1 g dietary sprig. fiber; 0 mg cholesterol.

Total prep time: 20 minutes

Total cooking time: 2 to 3 hours for stove top, 7 to 10 hours for slow cooker

Serving Suggestions & Variations

Soak the beans during the day while you’re at work to cut the cooking time in half.

Fancy Bean Substitutes: Goat’s Eye, Cranberry

Did You Know?

Good Mother Stallard beans have a thick skin similar to that of kidney beans but more with swollen centers and are almost like tiny, rounded footballs. They produce a broth that’s amazing, so resist the urge to fancy them up—just enjoy their natural flavors.

Just like riding a bicycle.

I put that to the test on the weekend.

I have not been up to my typical exercise regime this spring. I pared it down to 1 weight lifting class a week and 1 bike ride. Over the past 2 months, I have not cycled more than 400km.

Yet, in a week, I have signed up to cycle 200km between Perth and Kingston. (I long gave up cycling the full 354km between Ottawa and Kingston).

I used to think anyone could ride 100km.  However, with my severe lack of training this year, I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to cycle the “short” 200km route either.

So, I dusted off my road bike (the first time I rode it this year), and cycled almost 100km with Rob and Sue on Sunday. It was one of my favourite routes (the Aurora loop) which meanders north of Toronto through such small cities like Snow Ball and Maple. Cycling north of the of the city also meant tackling the uphill during the first part of the trip and enjoying the downhill going home. All in between getting soaked from a sudden downpour and battling the wind from many directions.

Did I do it? Yes. Was it hard? Yes. Will I do it again next weekend? Yes.

Rob has been training for this throughout our short spring, so he didn’t find this route as challenging as me… which meant he had more energy when we arrived home. Originally, he wanted to treat me with some ice cream but: a) I felt more like a smoothie, and b) we should be eating through our freezer stash. As I lay on the ground, Rob whipped up a delicious smoothie. I kind of made suggestions from the floor: frozen banana, frozen mamey, vanilla, hemp protein powder and almond milk. It was a crazy concoction and we weren’t sure how it would taste…. Only after I drank a huge serving, did I have enough energy to photograph it… because we both agreed it was too good not to share.

It is hard to describe the flavour of mamey. It takes like mamey… Think about it, how would you describe the taste of apple? Anyways, it is a sweet creamy mango-like flavour with floral undertones. It has a custard-like taste and consistency. Describing flavours is hard. I like this description:

The fruit’s flavor is variously described as a combination of pumpkin, sweet potato, and maraschino cherries with the texture of an avocado. Source

It paired beautifully with the creamy banana. The hemp protein powder made it a bit more of a green colour but also added creaminess.

How did we find mamey? We originally discovered it while travelling in Colombia, both as a fruit and in delicious smoothie form. We were thrilled when we spotted frozen mamey (sapote) at a Colombian bakery in Toronto and picked up a few packages earlier this year. They also had frozen guanabanana, guava, blackberry (mora) and possibly other non-exotic fruits like strawberries.

Have you ever tried mamey? I think it is best in smoothie-form.

This is my submission to this month’s Credit Crunch Munch and Raw Food Thursdays.

Mamey Hemp Shake

1/2 banana, chopped and frozen
14 oz pureed frozen mamey/sapote
1 tsp vanilla
4 scoops Hemp Pro 70 (or your preferred protein powder)
2-3 cups nondairy milk

1. Blend all in a high-speed blender. Thin to your desired consistency with additional milk.

Serves 2-3.