Category Archives: The vegan elephant

Black bean and butternut squash chili – a bowl of happy

Posted in The vegan elephant by

blackbeansquashchili

Meet my new favourite chili recipe. It’s pretty, spicy, satisfying, full of happy little black beans that are simultaneously chewy yet creamy and just a big old bowl o’ yumminess. This recipe is perfect for this time of year too when squashes prevail. If you don’t have a butternut squash, you could use any winter squash, except spaghetti squash, which is the wrong texture.

chili (2).jpg

Ingredients

1 medium onion chopped

2 red bell peppers chopped

About 3-4 cups cubed butternut squash – (a small squash of about 1 ½ pounds)

4 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 -2 Tbsp chipotle pepper in adobo chopped. I chopped in 2 of the peppers because I like the heat.

1 bay leaf

½ tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp oregano

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp cider vinegar

1 19oz can diced tomatoes

2 cans black beans drained and rinsed (that’s 3 cups if you cook your beans from scratch)

2 cups vegetable broth

Directions

Wash the squash and pierce it a few times. Microwave it for 6 minutes to make it soft enough to easily cut and peel. When the squash is cool enough to handle, cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds which are in the bulbous end of the squash. Peel the squash and cut in cubes. If this is daunting to you, go ahead and buy a bag of already peeled, seeded and cubed frozen butternut squash. No one will judge and it’s good to eat your veggies!

In a very large pot, sauté the garlic, onion and peppers in the olive oil. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir together. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes and then remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes (for 1 hour total), stirring occasionally. The liquid will reduce and you’ll have a perfect chili. Yes, it’s that easy.

This dish makes 4-6 servings and freezes well. It’s great with sliced avocado.

Squash and coconut soup – spicy, exotic and velvety

Posted in The vegan elephant by

CoconutSquashSoup

I receive a weekly produce box from a local farmers’ co-op. Every week is a surprise; we get whatever is in season and ready for harvest. As the season passes from June to November, we move from strawberries and rhubarb and endless lettuce to cabbages, apples, potatoes and squashes. And squashes. And squashes.

So, I made up a huge pot of this soup to share with my neighbours and to enjoy myself. The soup is flavourful and with a touch of heat from chilis. The coconut milk makes it velvety and creamy. I think this is the best soup I’ve ever made.

Ingredients

4 cups of uncooked yellow-fleshed squash – butternut, delicata, spaghetti, buttercup – whatever you have or prefer.

2 cups of peeled, diced sweet potato and carrots. I used 1 medium sweet potato and 2 carrots.

1 large white onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 red chili pepper – minced but don’t remove the seeds; they provide nice heat

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 can coconut milk (approximate 500 ml or 2 cups – it’s okay if it’s a bit more or less)

6 cups of vegetable broth

1 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

Directions

TIP: True to their name, delicata squash are delicate and don’t travel well so you probably won’t find them in a large grocery store. However, they are a wonderful, mild, thin-skinned squash that you can cook simply by removing the seeds – no peeling required.

To easily remove the flesh of other, firmer squashes, pierce the whole squash a few times with a knife (this allows steam to escape) and microwave the vegetable for 4 – 6 minutes. That should be enough to soften the squash and make it easy to cut open, deseed, peel and dice.

Sauté the onion, garlic and chili in the oil until just soft. Add the curry powder, ginger and cumin and stir through to heat the spices. Add the ground black pepper, broth, squash, carrot and sweet potato and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes. You want all the vegetables soft enough that they will be blend-able. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the vegetables and broth.

Once you have a smooth mixture, stir in the maple syrup and taste. Add salt if necessary. Add the coconut milk and stir.

Get a BIG bowl and a BIG spoon and enjoy!

This recipe makes about 9 cups of soup. Mmmm.

Beans and greens – northern soul food

Posted in The vegan elephant by

beansandgreens

Leafy greens – think kale, spinach, lettuces, chard, dandelion and collard greens – are touted as a superfood. They’re something I consciously have to remember to work into my diet, and when I’m do I always wonder why I don’t eat more. They’re delicious!

Here is an easy, fast, tasty and comforting cold weather dish I refer to simply as beans and greens.

Ingredients

10 oz of a sturdy pasta like farfalle, penne or rotini

2 cups vegetable broth

15 oz can white beans (or any kind of bean you like). That’s about 1 ½ cups of cooked beans. Drain and rinse if you’re using canned beans.

3-4 cloves garlic minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

A pinch of red pepper flakes

¼ cup almond butter

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 cups of raw greens chopped into bite-sized pieces. In this photo, I’ve used collard greens.

Salt and pepper to taste (about 1 teaspoon sea salt and ¼ teaspoon ground pepper)

Directions

Cook the pasta according to package instructions, drain and place in a large bowl.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pot. Saute the garlic and pepper flakes until the garlic is golden. Add the broth, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and almond butter and heat through stirring until the almond butter melts into the broth. Add the beans and greens and stir together until the greens wilt a bit. Pour the beans and greens mixture into the bowl with the pasta and toss together to incorporate. This makes 4 large servings.

This dish is great served with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast and tastes even better the next day.

Borscht with cashew cream

Posted in The vegan elephant by

Borscht

This is a winter soup that always makes me feel nourished and well loved. Traditionally borscht, a beet-based soup, is eaten with sour cream. When the two are stirred together, the borscht turns a glorious, creamy fuchsia. The cashew cream has the same effect and adds protein and healthy fat (there is no fat in borscht) to this nutritionally potent soup. Borscht is extremely easy to make and lasts for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Ingredients for the borscht

4 medium sized beets – peeled and cubed. You should end up with 3 cups of beets.

1 medium carrot, washed and chopped.

1 onion diced

1 19oz can diced tomatoes

½ head cabbage shredded (about 3 cups). I often use red cabbage for an extra vibrant borscht, but today I only had a Chinese cabbage so that is what went in.

4 cups vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon raw sugar (white sugar is not vegan)

1 tablespoon white vinegar (or use cider vinegar if that’s what you have).

Directions

In a large pot combine the onion, carrot, beets, bay leaf, broth, salt, sugar, pepper and vinegar. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and the cabbage and return to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and let simmer for 40 minutes.

This recipe makes 6 large servings.

For the cashew cream

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashew pieces – soaked in water in the fridge for 2-8 hours and then drained.

½ to ¾ cups water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Directions

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend on high until you have a smooth, creamy mixture. Store in a sealed container for up to 3 days. This recipe makes about 1 cup of cream.

Acorn squash stuffed with quinoa pilaf

Posted in The vegan elephant by

QuinoaPilaf

I love this dish. It’s simultaneously elegant enough for company dinners but comforting and easy. Funny thing, I’m not a huge fan of squash, but by this time of the year, I’m craving it. There must be something in it that does a body good.

This makes 4 servings (1/2 squash per person).

Ingredients

2 acorn squash

1 cup uncooked quinoa

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup chopped dried apricots

½ cup chestnuts (already cooked and peeled) – optional

1 cup kale washed and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 onion – diced

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp coconut oil

A pinch of chili seeds

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 – 2 Tbsp maple syrup

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Set the oven to 350. Wash the acorn squash and cut in half around the equator (i.e. not lengthwise). Scoop out the seeds and place the squash cut side up on a cookie sheet. You may want to cut off a bit of the bottom of each squash half so they sit upright. Drizzle each half with 1 Tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes. When they’re done, the squash will be soft when pierced with a fork.

Rinse the quinoa and put it in a pot with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce to a simmer and let simmer for about 15 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed. If you want to be super fancy, you could boil the quinoa in vegetable broth or half broth and half water.

When the quinoa is cooked and still hot, place in a large bowl with the kale, chestnuts (if using) and apricots. The hot quinoa is enough to “cook” the kale.

In a medium-sized, non-stick skillet sauté the onion in the remaining olive oil and the coconut oil, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the chopped pecans, the chili seeds, nutmeg, mustard and maple syrup. Stir together and heat through and then add to the bowl with the quinoa and fruit and kale. Stir together.

Spoon ¼ of the quinoa into each of the squash halves and enjoy!!

If you want to make something much simpler and more casserole-like, cube the cooked squash and toss it with the quinoa mix.

TIP: This dish is also excellent with dried cherries and walnuts instead of apricots and pecans. Replace the nutmeg, mustard and chili seeds with ¼ tsp cumin and 1 tsp dried crumbled sage. Omit the maple syrup.

 

Crabby Jack cakes

Posted in The vegan elephant by

CrabbyCakes

Most times when I try a new recipe, I tweak it  and make the recipe my own. But sometimes my cooking creativity involves nothing more than finding recipes on the Internet and seeing if I can recreate them. This is one of these times.

Pre-vegan days, I rarely at crab cakes, but when I wanted them, they called like a siren! These crab cakes, made with jackfruit to replicate the flaky texture of crab and tofu to provide protein and tummy satisfaction, are fantastically like the “real” thing. But they’re better: no one died; there’s no cholesterol, and these cakes are extremely economical to make.

I did get creative with the recipe name. I call these Crabby Jack cakes. Susan Voisin posted them as Jackfruit “Crab” cakes along with her excellent directions and recipe here.http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2012/04/jackfruit-crab-cakes.html

Some things I learned

I made Susan Voisin’s version using tofu rather than white beans. I ended up with 12 patties using about 1/3 cup mix per patty.

I live in southwestern Ontario. I found the Old Bay seasoning at Sobey’s grocers and the jackfruit at an independent Chinese grocer. You don’t need to shop on Amazon for these items.

I ate my Crabby Jack cakes with comeback sauce. It’s a perfect pairing!

Creamy, sundried tomato and almond pasta

Posted in The vegan elephant by

SundriedTomatoPasta

I was definitely built for long-term survival! While other people have a sweet tooth, I have a fat tooth. This pasta dish satisfies my love for creamy, rich sauces and yet is completely plant based and healthy. Oh, it’s delicious, fast and easy too. Does it get any better??

Ingredients

12 oz uncooked pasta (I used farfalle pasta)

½ cup sundried tomatoes (mine are not oil packed)

¼ cup raw almonds

¼ cup almond butter

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tsp sea salt

A few grinds black pepper

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil (omit if you’re using oil-packed sundried tomatoes)

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast

¼ cup fresh basil torn in pieces

Directions

Bring the vegetable broth to a boil (or microwave it) and put the sundried tomatoes in the broth to soak for about 10 minutes.

Cook your pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, put all the other ingredients in a blender and blend until you have a thick, creamy sauce. Yes. It’s that easy.

Drain the cooked pasta and put in a large bowl. Toss with the sauce.

Additions: If I have cherry tomatoes, I sometimes throw a few in the blender for an even tomato-i-er flavour.

I think this dish would be great with a couple handfuls of chopped fresh spinach or kale added to the pasta pot right before draining the noodles (just enough to blanch the greens).

I love this dish with broccoli and peas.

This recipe is my mildly modified version of the recipe from Laura Machell.

Squash and apple soup

Posted in The vegan elephant by

pumpkinapplesoup

Makes 4 servings

Does that recipe title scream autumn to you?

I actually thought I was making a pumpkin and apple soup, but turns out that the rather wan pumpkin I thought I had in my organic farmers’ box was really a spaghetti squash. I didn’t realize until I had the squash cut in half and saw it’s stringy texture. No problem. I just carried on. And that means this recipe could be made with a pumpkin, butternut or spaghetti squash or even an acorn squash. I would reserve the beautiful delicata squash for something a little more… delicate tasting.

This soup is spicy and tangy thanks to the addition of a large Macintosh apple – also from my organic farmers’ box.

Don’t let the list of ingredients daunt you. This is a very easy soup to make and it all comes together in 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 tsp coconut oil

1 squash – cut it in half, clean out the seeds and strings in the centre. Microwave for about 6 minutes to soften the gourd and then peel it and cut it into chunks.

1 onion diced

1 clove garlic minced

1 apple cored and diced. Leave the peel on.

Optional – dice and add a carrot too

1 sprig rosemary (optional)

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 -2 red chilies sliced. I used 2 and my soup is HOT!

1 tsp turmeric

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

3 cups water or vegetable broth (I used veggie broth since I make my own and always have a supply in the freezer)

Salt to taste (I used a teaspoon since my broth is unsalted).

½ cup coconut milk (if you don’t have coconut milk, a cashew cream would be perfect).

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions

In a medium to large pot, on medium heat sauté the onion, ginger, garlic and chili in the coconut oil for about 3 minutes. Add the spices and rosemary, the apple and squash and sauté for about another 3-5 minutes. Add the broth or water and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, cinnamon stick and the twig that was the rosemary.

Use an immersion blender or a regular blender, blend the soup until creamy. Return to the pot and add the coconut milk and maple syrup. Stir and enjoy!

p.s. I toasted the cleaned squash seeds with some coconut oil, chili powder, smoky paprika, salt and pepper at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Yum!

Fennel, orange and radish salad

Posted in The vegan elephant by

FennelSalad

Poor fennel. So delicious yet so misunderstood. And poor you, if you’re not enjoying this gorgeous bulb with the bright green fronds. This vegetable is delicious raw or cooked and has a distinct licorice-y flavour and happy crunch. I think fennel bulbs look like ogre hearts and well… that just makes it all the more fun.

Ingredients

1 bulb fennel

1 naval orange – peeled with a knife so all the white pith is removed and then sliced  into bite sized pieces

4-5 radishes sliced

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 Tbsp olive oil

1-2 tsp grainy Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

fennelTo prepare your fennel, wash it under hot running water. Remove the first layer and the tough core. Cut off a few of the green fronds – they make a nice decorative touch. You can eat the stalks/shoots though they can be woody so unless I have a very fresh fennel, I skip the stalks. Cut your fennel bulb in half and then slice into bite sized slices.

Directions

Mix all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. This salad is a great winter salad when oranges are cheap and other leafy greens are hard to come by or expensive and imported.

This salad has a bright, refreshing taste and great crunch and will last for 3 days in the fridge.

Kidney bean burgers with come back sauce

Posted in The vegan elephant by

KidneyBeanBurgerComebackSauce

Okaaaay…. I never knew that bean burger recipes could create such varied and delicious results. I mean I thought a legume was a legume was a legume. Not so.

These red kidney bean and walnut burgers are my new favourite! They’re fantastic on their own, but the addition of the come back sauce makes them mind-blowingly awesome. I’m so glad I made the full batch of the comeback sauce because I’m eating it with everything. Why is it called come back sauce? Because you will come back for more.

For the burgers

15 oz can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed and mashed

1 small onion shredded and squeezed dry (you’ll have about 1/3 – ½ cup shredded onion)

1 carrot minced

2 green onions chopped finely

1/3 cup walnut pieces – I chopped my finely

2 Tbsp fresh parsley chopped (TIP – store leftover fresh parsley or other herbs in the freezer in a Ziploc bag. When it’s time to use them, you can crumble them instead of having to chop them. )

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

½ cup bread crumbs (I used panko since it is vegan)

Directions

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, using your hands. The recipe will hold together well and feel firm. Refrigerate for 30 minutes minimum and up to overnight. Form into 4 equal sized patties and fry in a lightly greased pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes per side to brown and warm the patties through.

Come back sauce

¼ cup onion minced

2 cloves garlic minced

¼ cup Vegennaise or other vegan mayonnaise

I Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp sriracha or other hot sauce

I Tbsp Dijon mustard

I Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon ( roughly a lemon wedge’s worth)

1 tsp yellow prepared mustard

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Taste. Swoon. This sauce is versatile. I’ve had it on leaf lettuce as a dressing, on the burgers and even mixed with salsa with natchos.

To balance out the intense flavour and richness of this burger and come back sauce, I had a fennel and orange salad. Mmmm….