Almond Bulgur w/Black Beans, Tomatoes, & Kale

Hmm ~ I've had this cookbook for quite awhile now and this is the first recipe I have made out of it. Could I possibly have too many cookbooks?! Never! I have a list of recipes to try now out of this one. Have I mentioned I love one dish meals?!  The only ingredient I needed to buy was some almond butter. I try to keep peanut butter out of my pantry; too tempting with some jam and bread. 

The sauteing onion and spices smell heavenly ~ smoked paprika, black pepper, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I love all those "c" spices! 

Black beans, kale, green onions, tomatoes, and bulgur soaked in vegetable broth. 

A mixture of almond butter and lemon juice is stirred in after cooking. 

Don't forget the toasted almonds on top. The dish needs their crunchiness. Yum!

Trying to Get Back to Normal (Whatever That Is)

I did manage to try some new recipes this last week. This month has just flown by it seems. Now I'm fighting another stupid sinus infection which leaves me not wanting to do anything. Onward and upward! I made this tasty soup from The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook. It makes a big pot of soup using frozen veggies and canned beans. I thought it needed some green so I added a big handful of chopped spinach and some fresh basil. I took this over to my mom and dad's for their supper while my mom is recovering. I served it with some garlic bread. 

Fast Minestrone

My brother and sister-in-law had a Memorial weekend BBQ swim party on Saturday. I brought my veggie dog, cookies and coleslaw. I made my favorite coleslaw from Give Them Something Better. Even my 9 year old nephew loved the coleslaw! I also made these yummy cookies from Meet the Shannons; here is the recipe. I usually like a chewy cookie but these were more of a dry, baked texture like I think of store-bought cookies. Loaded with dried cherries, chocolate chips and walnuts, they're yummy with a cup of hot tea.

Cherry, Walnut & Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made another soup/stew this week. This is from The China Study Cookbook. This one is packed with protein with chickpeas, lentils, bulgur and sweet potato. The cayenne and coriander give it a nice spicy kick.

Zesty Bulgur Stew

I bought too many fresh berries last week and they were going bad so I thought "hey, make a crisp!" I always look in La Dolce Vegan first because I've made just about every recipe out of there. I used the Raspberry Apple Crisp recipe and instead of just raspberries I used a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I doubled the recipe and made a big 9x13 pan. We were babysitting the grandsons and they ate a big bowl of it. Yummy! Delicious for breakfast, too.

Berry Apple Crisp

Three-Bean Chili

This is an easy, delicious chili to put together from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

~ red, orange and yellow bell peppers ~

The chili was really thick so I added 2 cups of No Beef Broth and I also added  3/4 Cup of bulgur for some meaty texture. Lots of spices-garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, oregano and cayenne!

This recipe made alot so I put the leftovers in my freezer containers for future quick meals.

Sarah's Chili-con-Bulgur~pg. 163

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I forgot how good this chili is! It makes a large quantity so we've got leftovers for another meal.

 

The bulgur adds alot of meaty bulk to the chili. One note-next time I make this I won't add the 1/4 tsp. salt. It's salty enough with the vegetable stock and the 1/4 cup of tamari. I served the chili with the best cornbread in the world~Wolffie's 'Buttermilk' Cornbread from La Dolce Vegan.

Magnificent Mixed Beans & Bulgur~pg. 149

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:


Well, it's obvious that I'm working on this challenge at my own pace. It's almost the end of May and I'm still trying out April's recipes!

The title of this recipe should have been "Beans, Bulgur and Eggplant".  Loved this easy to put together meal. I usually have everything to make this except the eggplant so when you're looking for a quick meal and flipping through cookbooks you need eggplant in the title I think.  This calls for 1/2 tsp. dried mint and it really adds a unique, fresh taste to this dish. I served my beans, bulgur and eggplant with "Sesame Roasted Asparagus" (LDV pg. 185).

Middle Eastern Feast!

I have been trying to clean my pantry and freezer out and discovered I had four cans of lentils I needed to use. I found a great recipe using bulgur and lentils in Vegan Express by Nava Atlas. It reminded me of the mjeddrah I used to make with brown rice and lentils. I found that recipe in the first book I read about vegetarianism in 1983-Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe'. I was a birkenstock-wearing, La Leche League mama when I learned for the first time that babies and humans in general, didn't need dairy milk to survive. Who'd a thunk it?! My precious little girl never had a bottle of formula, dairy milk, jarred baby food (I made my own!) and wore cloth diapers. She grew up to be a beautiful young woman. She has a successful career, a wonderful husband and two little babies of her own now. Wow, I'm a proud mama!

This is Nava Atlas' Bulgur with Lentils, Parsley and Raisins.

Middle Eastern Chopped Salad

The chopped salad has tomatoes, cucumber, orange bell pepper, olives, green onions, parsley and toasted pine nuts tossed with olive oil and lemon. Bright and refreshing!

I served the bulgur and salad with warm pita bread and a basic hummus from The Engine 2 Diet. The hummus was rather plain because it had no added oil or tahini but it tasted good with everything else.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls~pg. 165

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Quick All-Purpose Garlic Tomato Sauce (pg. 179)

Be aware there is a typo when the sauce recipe is listed in the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. The can of tomato paste is listed as (1) 15.5 oz. can instead of (1) 5.5 oz. can. That would be a mighty big can of tomato paste if you used a 15 oz. can! I have made this sauce before and added fresh basil and Italian seasoning. It's a good, quick pasta sauce.

A nice side view so you can see the cute little cabbage rolls.

I ended up making eight cabbage rolls. I've always hesitated making this recipe because it looked too time-consuming. But everything went together fairly quickly.

A close-up of all the yummy goodies inside the roll.

I love using bulgur; it gives it a nice, chewy texture along with the mushrooms.