lentil burgers

you may have received a recipe for these burgers in the mail. if you can't find canned lentils, which my d&w only started carrying recently, you can get some dried lentils and use 2 cooked cups.

here's a microlentil burger that joe made me a while ago. it's a little blurry, but still just as cute.

pancakes

the best part about these pancakes is that you likely have the ingredients on hand already. that makes an impromptu pancake meal very possible.

just watch for the bubbles to form and be sure to spray the pan between each pancake. if you're feeling really ambitious, add something into the batter (blueberries/choc chips) or make a tofu scramble to keep salt cravings at bay. even better, make some tempeh bacon and eat that on toast. whatever you do, just enjoy some easy pancakes.

black bean & mango salsa

when avocados and mangos go on 10 for 10 at meijer, it's surely a week for salsas and dips. today's lunch was guacamole and this black bean and mango salsa. i adjusted a recipe i found to include the foods i have on hand right now.

just mix all the ingredients and let the salad rest in the fridge for some flavor melding time

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 mango, diced into little pieces

2 green onions, sliced end to end

1/2 red pepper, diced into small pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

lime juice, to taste (i used quite a bit)

a bit of cilantro (i used dried)

salt & pepper

cayenne (because my jalapeno went missing)

dip this alongside of some guac on you chip for extra delight.

fEASTER

i love to use a holiday to show off the abundance of the vegan diet (and enjoy some delicious food).  joe's masterfully prepared plate, in clockwise order from 12:00, shows off bread spread with earth balance, chickpea cutlets from veganomicon, roasted roots (made by grandma judy), corn, bean salad, and garlic mashed potatoes with cashew gravy.

lentil chili

with the unfortunate resurgence of winter, it's good to have some hearty chili on hand.  i followed a recipe, but added chickpeas, extra spice, and added an additional can of creamed corn (an disappointing label change from about a year ago).  i found that more time was needed to get the lentils to fully soften, so plan in extra time.  in total, the recipe recommends 45 minutes of cooking, but give yourself at least an hour for cooking.  in the mean time, see if there are any good movies playing on tbs.

rice krispie treats

i initially wasn't planning on blogging about this one because it's probably really bad for you, but joe raved about it being the best sweet snack i've ever made. with a review like that, how could i not post it?

these rice krispie treats are very easy, but for some reason mine got really hard after they cooled. next time, as a precaution, i will cut them into squares while they are still warm so they're easier to get apart. about 15 seconds in the microwave was enough to get them soft again. the recipe called for plain rice krispies, but why not enjoy some chocolate with your treat? i used chocolate rice krispies to make these even better.

here's what you need

1 C sugar

1 C peanut butter

1 C corn syrup

6 C rice krispies

here's what to do

mix the sugar, peanut butter, and corn syrup in a sauce pan over low heat until they're well combined. increase the heat and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. boil the mixture for 3 minutes. toss the syrupy mixture with the rice krispies and press them into a greased 9x13 pan.

cheesy sauce

this is one for the vegans to try. cheese eaters probably won't be convinced, but joe and i thought this was great. it was ready before our pasta finished cooking, so get that started first. we wanted our wheat noodles to be extra cheesy, so we made a double batch, which is what i am posting here.

1/2 C flour

1/2 C nutritional yeast

2 C water

2-3 T earth balance

s&p

paprika

cayenne

i'm not sure how much of each spice we added, but it was quite a bit. just test after each addition.

roasted portobellos

this is an old dinner, but one well worth posting. a portobello salad from veganomicon (the book of vegan law).  the portobellos are roasted in the oven then placed atop a salad of greens, avocado, chickpeas, red onions, and a special dressing.  i can post the dressing recipe later, but, for now, here is the mushroom recipe.

 

1/2 cup cooking wine (i use red)

1 T olive oil

2 T bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce

2 balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

2-4 portobellos, depending on size

 

preheat the oven to 400ºF.  marinate the portobellos for about 20 minutes in the smallest glass dish that will fit the mushrooms.  be sure to spoon some of the marinade into the caps.

cover the dish with foil and cook for 25 minutes.  remove foil, flip the caps, and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes.

 

if you don't want a salad, use your mushroom to enjoy a portobello burger.

in the peruvian style

                              

mom and dad enjoy some peruvian delights at the pisac market with one of the 35 kinds of

in cusco (portobello stir fry, fries, and rice) corn found in peru - this one with giant kernels

at some point, i will type up a recipe card for how to prepare tacu tacu.  i haven't figured out how i want to word it yet, but i'll let you know that it's so good that joe and i have made it three times since thursday.

tacu tacu was one of the special vegan dishes that i was served at the reserva amazonica resort in peru.  it's essentially mashed beans and rice, but it's very flavorful.  we served it with left over lime and avocado from lunch.

dlt

dulse is a salty sea vegetable.  for this sandwich, i briefly fried it in olive oil to crisp it up.  add hummus, lettuce, tomato, and onion to make dulse into a speedy wrap.

soda cake

i know this can NEVER compare to dad's cakes, but if you're looking to make a cake and only need two or three ingredients, try this one out.

1 box cake mix (vegans check ingredients)

1 1/4 C diet cola or 7up (depending on color of cake chosen)

try a white cake with crushed up oreos in it. just bake the cake according to the box's instructions. frost it with some homemade frosting or buy a pre-fab can of it (some of those are vegan, too).

soda cakes will have to suffice until another vegan birthday comes along. then one of these oreo cakes might show up.

avocado mango salsa

clockwise from avocados: avocados, limes, mango, jalapeno, tomato, green onions

instructions: chop things. mix things. add salt. add pepper. add cayenne. grab bag of el matadors. eat.

quick lunch

• mashed black beans with goya sazon con azafran from karis
• sauteed veggies (onion, red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes)
• corn tortillas
• el arriero style green sauce
• lime wedges
• green things

thrown together in about five minutes, this made a delicious fajita lunch.  with cleanup taking even less time, there is now no excuse for laziness.

heavenly brownies

i made these brownies this week, and they disappeared quickly. the picture shows the gross step of adding the flour paste to the sugar/cocoa/oil mess. needless to say, the final product looked a little bit prettier.

sesame noodles

a quick recipe that packs a salty sesame-y punch.

AIYaGRICULTURE