I invested two many years of my existence residing deep in the heart of South Texas, 90 miles from the Mexican border. Residing on the outskirts of a tiny town of less than 2,000 individuals with 2 traffic lights and far more cows than people, I had close to constant culture shock and never fit in. I did, however, love the expansive, open vistas, the feeling of freedom and the delicious, down home, unpretentious ‘throw in what you got’ Tex-Mex cowboy cooking.
My really favorite cowboy dish was carne guisada, that is usually a chopped meat covered in a quick gravy served with a side of buttered bread. Sounds so much much less impressive than it actually is. I veganized the dish easily and it tastes precisely like what I utilized to eat all individuals years ago in the Lone Star State: peppery, buttery, filling and Great. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Cooked TVP chunks, chopped small, 2 cups worth
1 large onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, diced small
2 Tbsp vegan butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups hot water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper (lots of pepper!)
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (this is not a cheese sauce so go easy on the yeast!)
-In a drizzle of olive oil saute the onion and garlic on medium heat for about 10 minutes
-Add 1 tbsp of butter and allow to melt completely
-Add in the 2 tbsp of flour and stir continually until combined
-Slowly drizzle in the 2 cups of hot water, stirring continually till you reach a thick creamy consistency
-Add the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar
-Add the spices and the nutritional yeast
-Add in the last tbsp of butter, stir completely
-This whole process should take about 5 minutes, still cooking on medium low heat
-Finally, add in the 2 cups of chopped TVP and add a bit more salt and pepper, allow to heat through and serve with 2 pieces of buttered bread. Enjoy!
What could be better than a creamy bowl of savory soup? Lentils are so delicious when their earthy sweetness is paired with the tart bright tang of lemon and cilantro. It is thick and creamy, but I added more liquid than I would if I was just making a dense dahl because I wanted this to be lighter and more soup like. Every bit of this soup is perfectly balanced in your mouth, which only leads to you eating more and more and more! But go ahead and enjoy because this dish is as healthy as it is tasty.
This soup was the first time I had tried cooking with Kalonji Black Onion Seeds and WOW – these are what has been missing every time I cook Indian food. Yes, your meal can be great without them, but they pack such a subtle, aromatic mouthful of flavor in each tiny bite you should really try to find them. They are what always made me go ‘hmmm…what is that?’ every time I ate Indian food. Just a few days ago we went and ate at my favorite Indian restaurant Anand Bhavan and I closely examined every dish and found these tiny black seeds studded throughout everything! Now I know and they will be an indispensable part of my kitchen from here on out!
Ingredients
1 yellow onion – diced fine
4 cloves garlic – diced fine
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp kalonji black onion seed
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups lentils rinsed
6 and 1/2 cups of water
3 cups of unsweetened soy milk
1 Tbsp vegan butter
2 lemons zest and juice
3/4 cup cilantro chopped
-On medium heat in a large soup pot in a drizzle of olive oil gently saute the onion and garlic for 5 minutes
-After 5 minutes add the lentils and all of the spices and cook and stir for another 3 minutes
-After 5 minutes add the water and the soy milk to the pot and simmer gently for 20 – 30 minutes until the lentils are soft but still have a bite to them. This part of the process is really subjective. I like my lentils still a bit firm, you might want them completely soft. I wanted my soup not too thick and broken down, you might. Just adjust the heat/water amount/cooking time and have fun with it.
-Once the consistency and lentils are to your liking, around 25 minutes, add the butter and stir though.
-Remove the pot from the heat and add the lemon juice and zest and the cilantro and serve with a side of naan, chapati, or paratha bread. Enjoy!
This is the world’s best grilled cheese sandwich ever! Seriously! It isn’t just the best VEGAN grilled cheese sandwich, it is the best grilled cheese sandwich period. I love these things, can you tell?
Crispy, salty on the outside and creamy and spicy and CHEEZY on the inside!
Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches)
1 yellow onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced
2 Tbsp vegan butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup hot water
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp miso paste
1 Tbsp spicy mustard
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup pickled jalapenos chopped
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
8 slices of bread
butter to spread on the bread
-Saute the chopped onions on medium high heat for 8 minutes, until they are soft
-Add the chopped garlic and continue cooking for another 2 minutes
-Lower the heat to low and add the 2 Tbsp of vegan butter and stir until completely melted
-Add the 2 Tbsp of flour and stir for a minute till the flour is completely combined with the butter, garlic and onion
-Slowly add in the 1 cup of hot water, stirring continually until the flour and butter break down and form a thick creamy consistency with the water
* At this point the mixture will look a bit liquidy and not gooey enough to form a good grilled cheese sammy, have no fear! Once you add the nutritional yeast later on it will thicken up into a thick, cheesy consistency.
-Add the salt, pepper, cumin and jalapenos
-Add the lemon juice, miso paste, soy sauce and mustard
-Slowly stir in the 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast and stir and cook for another minute
-Remove cheese sauce from the heat and allow to come to room temperature while you spread butter on the outside of each piece of bread
-Spoon some of the filling onto a piece of bread NOT on the buttered side, then top with another piece of bread
-On medium high heat in a drizzle of olive oil cook the sandwiches buttered side down until they are brown and crispy. Top with a sprinkle of sea salt and enjoy!
I’ve managed to check off at least a couple of things from my list. The Sauteed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach from Veganomicon made for a fairly simple but very delicious meal a few nights ago (sorry, no pictures of that one). I also went back to the test kitchen with my seitan patties this past weekend. This time it was for sort of a chorizo style, seasoned with smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne, fennel seed and garlic. And once I made the seitan the idea for this quinoa dish started formulating. Actually it was going to be a rice dish but we were out of white rice and I didn’t feel like waiting for brown rice, so quinoa made a fine substitution. Here’s how it went down.
1 lb. seitan
3 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 med. onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
pinch saffron
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
3/4 c. water
1 c. quinoa
1-2 c. broccoli florets
1/2 c. frozen peas
salt & pepper to taste
Short version: cook onion in 1 Tbs. olive oil; add garlic, thyme, paprika, saffron. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile chop the seitan and fry in 2 Tbs. olive oil until nice and brown. Stir into the quinoa at the end.
Vege Island