Quick & Tasty Pakora-ish Onion Fritters (vegan, plant-based, gf)

Yield: 4 fritters (easily multiplies)

The larder was pretty bare but I needed a bite of lunch that was plant-based, interesting, satisfying, and beautiful. We had yellow onion and one tablespoon of chickpea flour which was was about all I needed for a lite vegan lunch on the fly. But these would be tempting appetizers as well.

1/2 yellow onion, sliced into slivers

1 tablespoon chickpea flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons water

Garnishes: chutney, plant-based raita, cashews, mint leaves, cilantro, etc.

With a fork or spoon, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Heat skillet sprayed liberally with nonstick spray over medium heat. Divide divide fritter batter evenly into 4 disks a couple inches apart. Cook for a minute or 2 on first side, flip with a spatula, and cook a couple minutes more. Serve warm, garnished as desired.

#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn #vegansofinstagram #vegansoffacebook #vegansofvirginia #plantbasedpakora #veganpakora #plantbasedindian #veganindian

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Grilled Corn & Sweet Chili Aioli Dip (vegan & plant-based)

Yield: 2 servings

Dinner time arrived last night before I had a plan. Suddenly, I was famished.

While Bob deep fried pita triangles–only 30 seconds at 375 degrees–I opened the fridge to discover we had 3 cobs of grilled corn and sweet chili aioli: approximately equal parts commercially prepared sweet chili sauce and vegan mayo (I use Walton Farms no-calorie mayo…so I can have deep fried pita triangles) with a little fresh lime juice. So I whipped this together in a couple of minutes.

Grilled Corn Dip with Sweet Chili Aioli

Grilled corn cut from 3 cobs

6 Tri-color cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters or sixths

2 tablespoons, thinly sliced green onion

1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro

Approximately 2 tablespoons sweet chili aioli or to taste (or 1 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise plus 1 tablespoon prepared sweet chili sauce and a squeeze of lime juice)

Sea salt, if needed, and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl, start together with a fork, and serve with fried pita triangles, chips, crackers, or the vegetables slices and sticks of your choice. If not serving immediately, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn #vegancorndip #plantbaseddip #vegandip #plantbasedcorndip

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Vegan Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup

For the 18th (!) Annual Christmas, Chanukkah, Curry, and Cakes Party & Swap for some 25 of my girl tribe, I kept the menu simple, healthful, beautiful, and delicious.

This one time buffet dinner morphed into a cocktail party-swap a few years back and then, last year, into a moveable feast and swap featuring curried pumpkin soup.  Soup is self-serve from the stove, but I make it festive with a buffet of toppings.  This year’s tasty accompaniments were vegan blue cheese-chutney cole slaw, quartered persimmons, and vegan sugar cookies.  Oh, and wine. Lots of wine.

This year’s soup creation was superior to last and I am pleased to share it with you, as I wouldn’t change a thing.

Vegan Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup

Yield: 10 cups

1- 29 ounce can pureed pumpkin

1-15.5 ounce can lite coconut milk

1-30 gram package Jaswant’s Kitchen Chana Masala seasoning packet or the equivalent (you may prefer less–it is spicy)

4 cups vegetable stock or broth

Toppings bar: grated coconut, sliced green onions, roasted pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries or cherries, etc.

Whisk together all ingredients except toppings in a large soup pan or Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium to medium-high heat.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until heated through.  Serve topped as desired.

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Vegan Creamy-Cheesy Pasta with Sauteed Mushrooms & Onions
Plus Bonus Blooming Platter Low-Cal 4-Ingredient Mayo

Vegan Creamy-Cheesy Pasta with Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions

Yield: 1 serving (2 with a side salad)
App. 350 calories for entire recipe!

Decadent, delicious, low-fat and low-cal, this quick recipe is unbelievably tasty and satisfying.

By now, most of you know that my main calorie-saving secret for pasta is Shirataki (20 calories for 8 cooked ounces). Find it in a pasta-in-liquid filled pouch in the cold section of some grocery stores, including Whole Foods.

For this recipe, the other key low-cal ingredient is my Blooming Platter Mayo found on my website of the same name (and below).

Mayo in a pasta dish that isn’t a salad? Odd-sounding I know. But my mayo is silken tofu-based so it can be used whenever a savory creamy binder is needed, e.g. in place of cream, sour cream, or condensed soups in recipes. And it is, of course, the perfect tasty, thick, and creamy mayonnaise substitute at 10, rather than 100, calories per tablespoon.

Nonstick spray
1/2 red onion, slivered
1 cup sliced raw mushroooms
2 to 4 tablespoons white wine or water
8 ounces Shirataki pasta, rinsed and drained
2 to 3 tablespoons Blooming Platter Mayo (only 10 calories per tablespoon!)
2 tablespoons shredded vegan cheddar
2 tablespoons shredded vegan parmesan
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons pine nuts, smoked almonds, or a combination ( I like the combo)

Spray a large skillet with a couple of squirts of nonstick spray and heat over medium or medium high heat. Add onion and mushrooms and saute for about 1 minute, stirring continually. Add white wine or water and continue sauteing just until vegetables are barely soft. Stir in remaining ingredients, except nuts, and heat through, stirring, until cheese is melted. Stir in nuts and serve immediately.

Blooming Platter Low Calorie 4-Ingredient Mayo
Yield: 2 cups (only 10 tasty calories per tablespoon)

16 ounces (1 pound) silken tofu
Juice of 1/2 medium lemon
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Black salt to taste (sea salt may be substituted but Indian black salt–at Indian markets and online–lends a sulphury, eggy quality that is perfection)

Blend together in a food processor or blender for 3 or so minutes until completely combined, thick, and creamy. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfood #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfood #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn

 

 

 

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Vegan Lunch Hack
Southwestern Butternut Squash Bisque

An easy, elegant, low calorie and, of course, vegan lunch hack…

Southwestern Butternut Squash Bisque
Yield: 2 generous servings, app. 200 calories each (including garnish)

Every so often, I go on what I only half-jokingly call an “austerity program,” limiting myself to what’s in my pantry or freezer combined with a few fresh ingredients rather than giving in to whims and cravings that would require more purchases.

I have had some Dr. Mcdougall’s brand organic, vegan Butternut Squash Bisque hanging around in a 17.6 ounce box for a while. I opened it, tasted it, and found it lovely in its sweetness, earthiness, and velvety texture.  But I felt it needed a little boost.  Incidentally, the whole container was only 240 calories.

I also discovered some Frontera brand Green Chile Enchilada Sauce with roasted tomatillo and garlic in an 8 oz package.  This whole container was only 80 calories and it, too, was tasty and silky on its own.

I simply stirred them together, heated the mixture, put a dollop of vegan sour cream and a sprig of fresh cilantro on top, and garnished with a little side salad of mixed lettuces, halved cherry tomatoes, and a wedge of lime. In a very few minutes, lunch was served.

Honestly, I would order this dish in a restaurant and tip generously with compliments to the chef.

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Vegan Ro*tel “Velveeta” Dip or Sauce
The BEST Hot Vegan Cheese Dip or Sauce
Get Your Super Bowl Game On!

This is the old school recipe my way…

And hopefully I am not posting this too late for your Super Bowl festivities.

Recently, a local vegan bakery advertised their vegan “chick-un” nugget platter with “cheese” sauce for the Super Bowl.  I was curious about the sauce because, fairly recently in researching vegan cheese sauces online, there was a baffling array of sauces made with potatoes, eggplant, cashews and more.  But I was highly skeptical and  wondered to myself at the time, “Why not just melt some vegan cheese?”   And I shied away from experimenting.  But, Friday, I purchased some of the advertised sauce on the way to school to enjoy with my lunch at my desk.  It was a nice texture and lovely color, but it tasted oddly of garlic and mustard, ingredients I have used in vegan cheese spreads, but better camouflaged than that. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t taste convincingly like cheese.

So, I looked up the old recipe from my childhood–10 ounces of Ro*tel tomatoes and 1 pound of Velveeta–and purchased some Ro*tel yesterday on my grocery store run.  The cheese I had on hand.  Velveeta is so processed that it always reminded me of what would happen if orange vinyl were sold in blocks, so I figured that vegan cheese would be a shoe-in.  This morning I melted it in the microwave with the So Delicious vegan shredded cheeses I had on hand–both cheddar and cheddar-jack–and I was right!  I needed look no further for my go-to cheese sauce.  And, shamefully, I fantasized almost all the way through my yoga class, buying some jalapeno-lime corn chips on the way home and diving in.

Granted, this is not health food folks.  It is an occasional splurge.  And with the price of vegan cheese, it’s not cheap.  But it is super simple, lightening fast, and delicious.  It contains no nuts as some cheese sauces do, but it does contain soy.  However, soy is not even a whisper of a problem for me and hopefully not for you.

Plus, I can think of a million ways to use it.  It is hard to beat, plain, as a hot dip for chips.  But why not add corn, black beans, green chilies, vegan sausage, cooked diced potato, or some of all and enjoy it as a chunkier dip, as a sauce for nachos, a filling for enchiladas, or even as a base for a casserole, say potato and Poblano?  Or simply kick it up with some cumin, coriander, chili powder, or lime juice?

While your wheels are turning, why not make a batch and munch on it with some crispy chips?

Vegan Ro*tel “Velveeta” Dip

1 10-ounce can Ro*tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, mild or spicy

1 pound shredded vegan cheese (I like So Delicious cheddar and cheddar-jack sold in 8 ounce packages)

Optional garnish: chopped fresh garnish

Place in a microwave safe bowl or a double boiler and heat until melted, stirring frequently, approximately 8 minutes.  Whisk for a smoother finished product.  Serve warm with chips and a sprinkling of chopped fresh cilantro.

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Vegan 4-Ingredient Thai Chicken and Cream Cheese Roll-ups
Quick-and-Easy

These simple retro-contemporary apps are like cute little packages, and they are so quick, easy, and satisfying.  Though they are best warm, they are even delicious cold.  I know because I have brought them to school for lunch 3 days this week and my days don’t leave time to heat my lunch.

I am not sure why I even had Pillsbury Crescent Rolls in the fridge–vegan Pigs-in-a-Blanket?–but I did and I was craving my Vegan Thai Chicken Bites.  However, I had no puff pastry and no cashews.  So, I adapted.  I used the same sesame-garlic Tofurky Slow Roasted Chick’n and a dab of commercial Thai peanut sauce in both, but added a layer of vegan cream cheese to the roll-ups, and omitted the cashews.  Delish.

For presentation at home, I arranged them on a leaf of kale and sprinkled coconut shavings over the top.  But, believe me, they are also irresistible out of a Tupperware carton.

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Approximately 1/3 cup vegan cream cheese, softened

1 box sesame garlic Tofurky Roasted Chick’n

Approximately 3 tablespoons commercial or homemade peanut sauce + extra for dipping

Optional: fresh kale leaves and coconut shavings

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat (silicone baking sheet) or spray with nonstick spray.  Unroll crescent roll dough and separate triangles, laying them a couple of inches apart on baking sheet.  Spread with about 2 teaspoons of vegan cream cheese, top with about 1/8th of the chick’n, drizzle with about 1 teaspoon of peanut sauce, and roll up beginning with wide side of dough triangle opposite point.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool enough to handle and then serve immediately on an optional bed of kale sprinkled with coconut shavings and a dish of extra peanut sauce for dipping.

 

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Vegan Black-Eyed Pea (or Bean) Salad Burgers
with My Secret Binder: Brown Rice Cakes!
Leftover Bean Salad Never Looked or Tasted So Good!

If you have one of “those” bean salads hanging around in your refrigerator–you know, tasty enough, but not exciting enough to eat over and over again–STOP!  Don’t throw it out or force yourself to eat it as is.

Instead, make my newest “burger” creations.  These could not be quicker, easier, nor tastier.

With a salad similar to the lovely one below in the fridge leftover from my mother’s New Year’s Day tradition of eating black-eyed peas for good luck–it was good, but unremarkable enough that I didn’t photograph and post (such salads are a dime a dozen)–it suddenly occurred to me that I could use it as the basis for a bean burger.  But I didn’t want to use the traditional high calorie binder of nuts or flour or even oatmeal because I didn’t have any.  But I did have brown rice cakes (vastly superior in flavor and texture to the white rice ones, as  I recently discovered).

Hattie B's Black Eyed Pea Salad | Life, Love, and Good Food

(photo credit: Sheila Thigpen on Epicurious)

Perusing my pantry, it occurred to me that rice cakes might be just the perfect moisture-absorbing binder I sought.  It turns out that one rice cake per one cup of salad binds perfectly, lending a lovely–I’d say ideal–texture.  Of course, it will depend on the moisture in your salad, so be prepared to add more or perhaps even less.

And for an exterior with an irresistible crusty crunch, I experimented with plain, unseasoned yellow cornmeal.  It was perfect.

Regarding presentation, more Snow Days, courtesy Winter Storm Grayson, than we have had since I begin my teaching career 15 years ago meant that my weekday lunches looked a little different than they do on my art room desk at school.  For the nicest presentation, go for height and color contrast.  I made my cakes small-ish and thick-ish, akin to a crabcake.  And I stacked two on a nest of fresh baby spinach, topping them with a little vegan sour cream and cranberry relish–red is the complementary color of green–leftover from Christmas, finishing with a sprinkling of roasted and lightly salted pepitas.  The combination earns an A+ according to my stringent rubric.

(Note: certainly, you can serve this burger on a bun if you choose, but I prefer mine open-faced, as bread just provides too many calories and not enough nutrition in my diet of around 1,500 to 1,700 calories per day.  Keeps me in fighting form!)

I hope you agree.

Vegan Black-Eyed Pea (or Bean) Burgers

Yield: 4 patties

2 cups black-eyed pea or any bean salad

2 brown rice cakes crumbled (may require more or less depending on moisture in your salad)

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal

Vegetable oil

Optional accompaniment: baby spinach or your favorite greens

Vegan sour cream or your favorite sauce

Vegan relish or salsa (I used cranberry relish leftover from Christmas)

Optional garnish: roasted and lightly salted pepitas or your favorite nut or seed

In a food processor, pulse bean salad until it is finely minced and just starting to hold together.  Crumble 1 1/2 rice cakes into the processor and continue to pulse until the mixture begins to come together almost like a cookie dough, but with lots of texture and flecks of color.  Add the remaining rice cake or more if needed to achieve the desired consistency.  Remove mixture to a bowl and, using a scoop or spoon, compact 1/4 of the dough into a patty about an inch tall.  Set on a plate.  Repeat with remaining mixture to make 4 patties.  Place yellow cornmeal in a shallow bowl and lay each patty on top, patting the cornmeal onto all the surfaces, flipping for a nice even coating top and bottom.  Heat a very thin layer of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium (or at whatever temperature gives you a nice sizzle).  Carefully place each patty into the pan, cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned on the first side, flip, and cook 3 more minutes or until lightly browned on the reverse.  Serve on a bed of baby greens, drizzle with vegan sour cream or a favorite sauce, top with a dollop of relish or salsa, and sprinkle with the nut or seed of your choice.

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Vegan Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Creamy Cheese,
Maple Syrup & Sriracha
4 ingredient, quick & easy, super sexy appetizer

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t enjoy Brussels sprouts for breakfast. However, southeast Virginia, where I live, just experienced “Snowmageddon,” aka The Blizzard of 2018, and the light is absolutely breathtaking.

So I knew I wanted to do a photoshoot this morning to take advantage of the glorious glistening out the window.  And I certainly wasn’t going to allow these beauties to go to waste.

If you are in need of a quick, drop-dead gorgeous, and delicious appetizer–or breakfast (just kidding)–look no further.
Simply top crispy roasted Brussels sprouts halves with a dollop of softened vegan cream cheese or nut cheese, homemade or prepared like Treeline brand, a drizzle of maple syrup from a spoon going in one direction, and a drizzle of sriracha straight from the bottle going in the other direction–almost like handwriting–and finish with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt. (Note: I am impatient and like my Brussels sprouts practically charred, so I roast them at 500 degrees with just a hint of nonstick spray or olive oil and coarse sea salt, stir them a couple of times, and watch them carefully.)

Voila! You will impress your guests and satisfy both their eyes and their appetites.



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