Chickpea Veggie Soup

Another great recipe from OATrageous Oatmeals.

This is definitely a pantry-friendly easy to make soup along with some carrots, sweet potato and kale. I like the addition of steel-cut oats to give the soup some texture and thickness. I've never added oats to a soup before. I used to use barley quite a bit but found out it really bothered my stomach. So now I can use steel-cut oats! 

~ Chickpea Veggie Soup ~

This recipe made 8 servings so we enjoyed it the first night and then I froze the rest for a quick supper later. 

Aloo-Yoop Curry Potato Wrap

 Found this great curry flavored recipe in Vegan A Go Go. 

 Lots of yummy flavors-potatoes, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, coconut milk, peas. 

~ Aloo-Yoop Curry Potato (Wrap) ~

This was too soupy to eat in a tortilla so we ate it in a bowl and used the rolled-up tortilla to use as a scoop. I garnished the bowl with some chopped cilantro and sriracha sauce. This works much better as a wrap filling the next day after it has a chance to thicken up. 

The Ultimate Corn Chowder Experience

Day 2 of catching up on my posts! I managed to get to the gym yesterday for Pilates after 2 and a half months of doing nothing and finally got my hair cut and highlighted after 3 months. I usually get my hair cut every 6 weeks; it was the longest it's been in a long time. I'm starting to slowly feel like my old self again. 

This soup recipe comes from Betty Goes Vegan and I think they are a little ambitious in the naming of the recipe. I wouldn't say that this is the "ultimate" in corn chowder experiences. heehee It does have the 'ultimate' use of ingredients: potatoes, creamed corn, corn, peas, green beans, chickpeas, hash browns, plus about a dozen assorted seasonings and spices! I do have to say that it was rather good and the hubby liked it. 

~ The Ultimate Corn Chowder Experience ~ 

Look at the state of my Betty Goes Vegan cookbook! I'm so irritated; the whole section of colored photos started slowly falling apart. I've been using clear strapping tape to hold each page in. Ugh! Now more and more pages are falling out. I bought a 1 1/2 " three ring binder and I'm just about ready to rip the cookbook apart and use my 3 hole punch to put it in the binder. Has anyone else's done this?!

Chickpea Tacos and Dirty (South) Rice

I've been wanting to make these tacos for awhile now and I finally got around to doing it! Such an easy recipe with tasty results from Vegan's Daily Companion by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Ingredients for the chickpea tacos: mashed chickpeas, spices, lemon juice and chopped spinach. 

Cooking chickpea taco mixture.

Lots of yummy toppings: Daiya shredded cheddar, shredded cabbage, green onions, cilantro and chopped cherry tomatoes. And you can't have tacos without some hot sauce. I like chipotle habanero hot sauce! 

I was just going to make my usual spanish rice to go with my tacos and then I found this recipe for Dirty (South) Rice in Cookin' Crunk. Finally, a successful recipe from that cookbook. I'll have to try some more of them now. 

I used short brown rice so it gave it a nice chewy texture. The rice is cooked in vegetable broth and spices to give it lots of flavor, then I tossed in some chopped tomatoes and corn. 

~ Chickpea Tacos & Dirty (South) Rice ~

Brownies & Pasta

Trying a few more new recipes the past few days. I did make a favorite Brussels sprouts recipe from Chloe's Kitchen, "Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnuts (pine nuts)". I love the crispy bits of Brussels sprouts! 

~ Espresso Brownies ~

The Espresso Brownies from La Dolce Vegan were scrumptious! The recipe calls for a shot of espresso and since I don't have an espresso machine I just mixed up some instant with 1 1/2 oz. hot water and 2 tsp. of the espresso powder. It gave these brownies a deep, rich chocolate mocha flavor. I frosted them with the Chocolate Cake Glaze recipe from LDV. They were even better with some So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean ice cream! 

~ Pasta with Greens, Chickpeas & Olives ~

This pasta dish is from Wild About Greens, by Nava Atlas. So many ways to use all kinds of greens in this cookbook. I used Swiss chard along with garlic, red bell pepper, tomatoes, chickpeas and kalamata olives to make a hearty dish. A sprinkle of some red pepper flakes gives it a nice spicy taste. It is garnished with some toasted pine nuts and chopped fresh basil. 

White Chocolate Almond Bark & Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches

I've been revisiting some of my favorite recipes from  La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer; one of the cookbooks I use the most. I made my hubby's favorite Veggie Pot Pie and Cranberry Apple Crisp. I have used dried and fresh cranberries when making this crisp, and both are delicious. One of the few recipes I hadn't tried yet is White Chocolate Almond Bark. It's so easy to make with just three ingredients-vegan white chocolate chips, toasted almonds and raisins. A yummy sweet treat. 

White Chocolate Almond Bark

La Dolce Vegan

I have only tried one other recipe so far from Cookin' Crunk. The Vegan Ranch Dressing wasn't a success.  I had the Pimiento Cheese Sandwich recipe tagged for awhile so I thought I would give it a go. I have always loved pimiento cheese with tortilla chips. Yeah, I could eat the whole tub of it in one sitting! So I thought, great! now I can have a vegan version. 

Ingredients for the pimiento cheese. 

The consistency is rather like hummus. 

I ate my Pimiento Cheese on a sandwich like she suggested. It kind of squished out the sides. My verdict is that this tastes nothing like pimiento cheese! It is just a roasted red pepper hummus. Why did she have to tease me so?! Now I want to go out and get a tub of real pimiento cheese and some tortilla chips. hehe! I've been eating it like hummus using some naan bread, cucumbers and sweet peppers. *sigh*

"Tuna" Salad & Greens

Vegcookbookclub January 2014

The Happy Herbivore: "Tuna" Salad ~

I've made chickpea salads before that I love but this one really has the consistency, taste and texture of tuna "tuna" salad.  I used a pastry blender to mash up the chickpeas; it works really well. Instead of chopping the celery you shred it and then combine sweet pickle relish, kelp powder and a few other seasonings. I served it over a bed of arugula and spinach with chopped red onion, cherry tomatoes and yellow sliced mini peppers. I ate the leftovers in warmed corn tortillas with shredded spinach. 

Everyday Happy Herbivore:  Rainbow Greens ~

The recipe calls for rainbow chard but this time I used red chard. So easy, yet a delicious way to eat your greens. I saute' the chard stems with the garlic to soften them up a little. The combination of the  apple cider vinegar and the raisins helps to balance the bitterness of the greens. 

Curry and Brussels Sprouts

Vegcookbookclub December 2013 ~
Curry and brussels sprouts?! These two recipes shouldn't go together but surprisingly they worked well and tasted delicious.
Eat, Drink & Be Vegan:  Zucchini Chickpea Tomato Curry
Crazy Sexy Kitchen:        Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios & Cipollini Onions

Love the flavors of this curry. Lots of spices~garlic, ginger, curry powder, fenugreek (a new one for me), coriander and cumin seeds, turmeric and cloves. The aroma in the kitchen as these were sauteeing was intoxicating! Yukon Gold potatoes, zucchini, green beans and chickpeas added the bulk to this recipe. I served it over brown rice. I thought it would be too spicy but the hubby actually liked it. The cilantro and fresh squeezed lime really accented all the flavors. 

Two of my favorite condiments~cilantro and lime!!

This brussels sprouts recipe had several substitutions. First, I pre-cooked the sprouts in the microwave a little bit so they would be done after roasting; I don't like hard sprouts. I couldn't find raw pistachios so I used toasted pine nuts. I tossed them in after roasting was done. I had no idea what cipollini onions were so I used shallots. I just read about cipollini onions and wish I had tried to find some. It sounds like they would have been sweet and carmelized. I used marsala cooking wine instead of the sherry which gave everything a sweeter flavor. Even with all the subs, these roasted brussels sprouts were yummy. I want to try this again with all the original ingredients.

Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus~pg. 50

VegCookbookClub July recipes from eat, drink & be vegan by Dreena Burton:

I love any kind of hummus and this recipe calls for my usual pantry staples. So easy to whip up in the food processor and so yummy. 

I served the Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus at our 'family karaoke night'! It was a hit as were the 5-Spice Almond Cookies. I used the leftovers as a sandwich spread with tomatoes, red onions and cucumbers. 

Tamari Tease Chickpea Spread ~ pg 114

VegCookbookClub July recipes from eat, drink & be vegan by Dreena Burton:

Wow ~ This is so ridiculously easy and delicious!

 I added a clove of garlic to my mixture and used Bragg's instead of the tamari. 

I spread the Tamari Tease on some Greek pita bread and layered tomatoes, sliced avocado and romaine lettuce for a quick, yummy lunch.

Couscous and Veggie Medley~pg. 225

VegCookbookClub February recipes from Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

RAINBOW

Great tasting salad and easy to make. Just takes some advance prep because the salad needs to chill for several hours. Love the Indian flavors in this-cinnamon, ginger, cumin, turmeric along with the sweet and tart additions of raisins and Granny Smith apple. Yum!

Kale Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 

I'm finally making my first recipe from this month's cookbook. I've been trying to clean out my fridge, freezer and pantry and use what I have; still working on it. :) I'm always looking for new ways to use kale so I thought I would try this salad recipe. It makes a Big salad-I had to dump it in a larger bowl to get it mixed up.

 

 

I added a little more lemon juice to mine. The acidity helps cut the bitterness of the kale. This will taste better the next day after the flavors marinate and the kale softens up a little. Still not my favorite kale salad; my favorite is Massaged Kale Salad. I probably make that one once a month. But I will make this again and add more lemon juice and maybe some apple cider vinegar. I served the kale salad with some Vegan 'Sausage' Hash.

 

Cousin Natasha's Everything But the Kitchen Sink Vegetable Curry~pg. 143

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Still trying to finish up a few dishes from my La Dolce Vegan Challenge which I started a little over a year ago. I've made this recipe before and my hubby thought it was a little too spicy; so I adjusted the curry powder and cayenne just for him. Of course, then I had to add a little sriracha sauce to mine! Now I've found a new cookbook challenge: VegCookBookClub They choose a vegan cookbook to cook out of for a month. Since I have about 50 vegan cookbooks I thought this should work. :) This month the club chose The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester. I admit I went out and bought a 2 qt. and 4 qt. slow cooker since I only had a large 6 qt. Most of her recipes are cooked in a 4 qt. There are no set recipes to cook, you just choose some and then post a pic and comment. It's nice to read the reviews of some of the recipes everyone tries. So that's next on my list. Just got to get to the grocery store so I can make my first slow cooker recipe!

Curry simmering on the stove~smells delicious! This recipe is great because just like the title says you can throw everything but the kitchen sink in it. I subbed out the red pepper for a green and the zucchini for a large yellow summer squash. Can't wait to try some more variations.

 

 

Served my curry over some couscous!

Vegetable Biryani~pg. 150

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Lovely one pot dish! I added 2 cups chopped baby spinach with the peas and used dried mint instead of fresh. This was rather mild for my taste so I added sriracha sauce and a little Bragg's Liquid Aminos to mine. My hubby thought the flavor was just right. I'm running out of recipes to cook out of La Dolce Vegan besides desserts (which I don't need too many of those)! So I'm trying to get organized for the week and make a list of things to cook for supper. Hopefully, I'll succeed and not succumb to a crappy veggie delite sandwich from subway-ugh! If I don't have things planned out in advance I fall right into a funk and take the easy way out. Blame it on the bipolar and OCD! My husband took me grocery shopping yesterday so I can stock up for the week. Whew! By the time I got home and put everything away I took a 3 hour nap-I guess that happens when you had back surgery only a week and a half ago.

Tu-No Open-Face Sandwich~pg. 159

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Ok, I call these tu-no melts! My mom always used to make us tuna melts. And then I would make them for my kids (pre-vegetarian and vegan days). I used English muffins (next time I'll toast them a little first) topped with the Tu-No mixture. I used a can of chickpeas which I drained, rinsed and mashed with a pastry blender instead of the allergy producing tempeh. Then I topped that with a sliced tomato and Daiya shredded cheddar. Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. I served my tu-no melts with some sweet potato fries. This recipe was okay but next time I'll use one of my favorite chickpea salad recipes for the topping. See the recipes under 'Chickpeas' label.

My Favorite Chickpea Salad

This salad reminds me of tuna or chicken salad in my pre-vegan days. The recipe is from Robin Robertson's cookbook 1,000 Vegan Recipes, "Chickpea-Tomato Wraps". I add 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and use Dijon mustard instead of spicy brown mustard. I could eat the whole bowl by myself.

I ate my chickpea salad in an Oroweat Italian Herb Pocket Thin with spinach and sliced orange mini pepper. Filling, nutritious and delicious!

Gingered Green Grains

Love this recipe! It has all my favorite foods~kale, chickpeas, quinoa and brown rice (oh, and cilantro!) The husband also loved it; another plus. I'm really, really trying to get more greens in our diet. This is the first recipe I've tried from The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook.

All of these recipes use absolutely no oil. I'm not that hardcore; I used some olive oil spray along with the water to saute' my veggies. I think we all need a little oil in our lives-keeps the joints from creaking-hee hee!

Auntie Bonnie's Chickpea Salad~pg. 71

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I've been so busy looking at all the new vegan cookbooks I just got (like I need any more!) that I haven't had time to post! Just received - Forks over Knives DVD & cookbook; Engine 2 Diet; Peas and Thank You; and the McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook. Can't wait to dig into some new recipes. I would be perfectly content to be locked in a room surrounded with books! Oh, but then I wouldn't be able to cook anything :(

Yumm! Chickpeas!

I love my chickpeas! I make several different chickpea salads and this one tastes really good on top of my spinach salad. I posted another chickpea salad/spread recipe in my Salads section that I make alot.



Chickpea Salad/Spread

The start of a great New Year's Eve party!! I made Chickpea Spread (on the left), salsa (middle) and Triple Ginger Gingersnap Cookies (in the background). Everyone really liked the Chickpea Spread so I thought I would share the recipe. It comes from meatoutmonday.org . I also brought a veggie tray and some bottled vegan ranch dressing (you can see the dressing in the yellow bowl); it was disgusting, I threw it away. I'm sure I could have made a great vegan ranch dressing-anybody have any good recipes?

Chickpea Salad/Spread
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed well
3-4 Tbsp Vegenaise mayonnaise
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp mustard (I use Dijon mustard)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper (to taste)
*If you want a smoother, spreadable consistency blend chickpeas in food processor. Remove and combine with other ingredients in bowl. I usually just use a pastry cutter to chop and mash my chickpeas. It makes a chunkier salad and then I eat it on top of baby spinach leaves. Refrigerate salad or serve immediately.

Pot Pie & Dancing

I was right in the middle of making this 'Curried Vegetable Pie with Chickpea Crust' from The Garden of Vegan when I got a text from my friend asking me "Where are you?". My brother has a classic rock band and they were playing for a benefit and I was missing the party! So I finished making my pot pie, ate a piece, squeezed into my 'nice' jeans and boots and went dancing. So, I got my cardio in for the day!

Of course it's always the girls who like to have a good time and dance while the guys sit around!! We ended the night with 'Mustang Sally'-"ride, Sally, ride". I'm on the far right workin' it!

This was an excellent pot pie. It had a chickpea pie crust that was really good and chickpeas in the filling. It reminded me of the frozen chicken pot pies I used to eat. I don't know what I was thinking because we're supposed to make another pot pie today for the La Dolce Vegan! Challenge. I'll do a taste comparison.