Featured Recipes
Chana Masala
This is my favorite curried garbanzo bean dish. I
always have canned garbanzos and tomatoes in my pantry
and fresh spinach in my refrigerator so I can prepare
this easily whenever I get the urge.
Preparation Time: 20
minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6-8
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 14.5 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
1 cup water
4 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Place the onion, garlic
and ginger in a large non-stick pot with the vegetable
broth. Cook, stirring frequently until onion softens
slightly. Stir in the coriander, cumin, turmeric and
cayenne. Continue to cook and stir for 1 minute. Add
the tomatoes and mix well. Then add the garbanzo beans,
green chilies and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat,
cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add the spinach, mix
well and continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with cilantro before serving, if desired.
Hints: To simplify this
dish, leave out the coriander, cumin, turmeric and
cayenne, and substitute 2 tablespoons of curry powder.
Curried Dal with Greens
Stew
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Servings: 8
1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons grated ginger
8 cups water
2 ½ cups chana dal
3 cups peeled and chunked yams
2 teaspoons sambal oelek
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups chopped Swiss chard
Dash sea salt (optional)
Place the cumin seeds and
mustard seeds in a large dry non-stick soup pot. Cook
over medium heat, stirring frequently, until seeds start
to pop and release some fragrance. Do not let them
burn. Add the onion and continue to cook and stir until
onion softens slightly, then stir in the garlic and
ginger. Continue to cook and stir for another minute or
so until onion turns a light golden color. Add the
water, chana dal, yams, sambal oelek, curry powder and
coriander. Mix well, bring to a boil, reduce heat,
cover and cook for about 2 hours until dal is very
smooth and creamy and yams are breaking apart. Stir in
the chard and continue to cook for about 10 minutes.
Season with a bit of sea salt, if desired.
Hints: If you can’t find
chana dal in your market, use split mung beans, or
yellow split peas. Chana dal may be ordered from
www.bobsredmill.com. Red lentils could also be
used, although the stew won’t be as creamy. Other leafy
greens are also delicious in this stew, such as kale or
spinach.
Summer Corn Soup
This is a variation on the Corn Chowder from the
July 2002 newsletter. This one uses a few more
vegetables and is not quite as spicy.
Preparation Time: 15
minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6
4 cups fresh corn kernels
(see hint below)
2 cups rice, soy or almond milk
2 cups vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
1 green, yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Several twists freshly ground white pepper
¼ cup slivered fresh basil leaves
Dash sea salt, optional
Place 2 cups of the corn
in a blender jar with the non-dairy milk of your choice
and process until smooth. Set aside.
Place about ¼ cup of the
broth in a large soup pot. Add the onion, bell pepper,
and zucchini. Cook, stirring frequently until vegetable
are fairly tender, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining
broth, the remaining 2 cups of corn kernels and the
tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5
minutes. Add the blended corn/milk to the pot along
with the pepper. Heat through, but do not boil. Stir
in the fresh basil and sea salt. Serve at once.
Hint: Frozen, thawed corn
kernels may be substituted for the fresh corn, if
desired, although the fresh corn gives the soup a more
vibrant flavor.
Costa Rican Ceviche
Traditional Latin American Ceviche is marinated raw
fish in lime juice. We have had this prepared for us in
Costa Rica using hearts of palm instead of the fish and
enjoyed it tremendously. Make this several hours before
serving for best results.
Preparation Time: 20
minutes
Resting Time: 2-3 hours
Servings: 4-6
2 14.5 ounce cans
water-packed hearts of palm, drained
¾ cup fresh lime juice (8-10 limes)
1 small onion, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
¼ cup diced celery
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Slice the hearts of palm
into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl. Strain the
lime juice and pour over the hearts of palm. Add the
remaining ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate at
least 2 hours for flavors to blend. Season with a bit
of sea salt and freshly ground pepper, if desired.
Fasta Pasta
This easy, healthy pasta dish can be on the table in
less than 15 minutes with hardly any fuss. Good for
those nights when you don’t want to spend much time in
the kitchen. It’s a kid favorite too!
Preparation Time: 5
minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
1 14.5 ounce can Muir
Glen diced tomatoes with Italian Herbs (see hints below)
1 cup water
2 cups whole grain or brown rice penne pasta
5 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
Vegan Parmesan cheese substitute (see hints below)
Place the tomatoes and water in a large pot and bring to
a boil. Stir in the pasta, cover and cook over
medium-low heat until pasta is tender, about 10
minutes. Stir in the spinach, cover and cook for about
2 minutes until softened. Sprinkle with some vegan
parmesan cheese before serving.
Hints: Muir Glen Organic
tomatoes come in a variety of other flavors so you may
also want to try this recipe with some of the other
alternatives, such as Fire Roasted diced tomatoes with
Green Chilies. Many manufacturers make delicious whole
grain pastas and Tinkyada Pasta Joy makes wonderful
brown rice pasta. The Vegetarian Express makes a vegan
parmesan cheese substitute called Parma Zaan Sprinkles.
Parmesan Cheese
Substitute
It is easy to make your own parmesan cheese
substitute. Just mix equal amounts of almond meal and
nutritional yeast together in a jar. Shake well, add a
small amount of onion powder and salt, if desired, shake
again, and it’s ready. Store in the refrigerator until
ready to use.
Hints: Prepared almond
meal is available at Trader Joes. Or make your own by
pulsing raw almonds in a food processor until very
finely ground. Store almond meal in the freezer until
ready to use.
Caesar Pockets
Here’s a fast and easy lunch idea that is also great
for summer picnics. Make a batch of Very Benevolent
Caesar Salad Dressing from the December 2007 newsletter
and keep it in your refrigerator to make these delicious
pocket sandwiches quickly.
Preparation Time: 15
minutes with prepared dressing
20 minutes if you need to prepare dressing
Servings: 4
4 cups chopped romaine
lettuce
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
½ cup snow peas, halved
¼ cup sliced roasted red peppers
¼ cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup Very Benevolent Caesar Salad Dressing (December
07 NL)
2 tablespoons Vegan Parmesan Cheese (see recipe above)
4 whole wheat pita breads
Combine all the vegetables
in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss well
to mix. Sprinkle on the vegan parmesan cheese and toss
again. Cut pita breads in half and stuff with the salad
mixture.
Hints: I also like to add
some marinated tofu to these pockets (see recipe
below). Just toss in a handful or so with the
vegetables and mix well with the dressing. Or add about
¾ cup canned garbanzo beans to the vegetables and mix
with the dressing. Buy mushrooms pre-sliced to save
time. Roasted red peppers are sold in jars in most
supermarkets. Drain well and slice into bite-sized
pieces. The Very Benevolent Caesar Salad Dressing will
keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
Marinated Tofu
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Resting Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Servings: variable
1 10 ounce package extra
firm tofu (not silken)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Agave nectar
Dash sesame oil
Drain the tofu well, cut
into cubes or strips and place in a large bowl. Mix the
soy sauce, Agave nectar and sesame oil together. Pour
over the tofu cubes and stir well to mix. Let rest for
about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure
tofu cubes are well coated with the marinade. Remove
tofu from the marinade with a slotted spoon and dry-fry
in a non- stick skillet until nicely browned on all
sides, turning occasionally with a spatula.
Black Bean Dip
By Leslie Kitt
Leslie says she makes this
frequently for guests and everyone loves it.
Preparation Time: 5
minutes
Servings: makes 1 ½ cups
1 15 ounce can black
beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup tofu sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/’8 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients in
a food processor and process until smooth.
Serve with assorted fresh
vegetables to scoop up this delicious dip.
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