Vegan Frittatas 

These are relatively easy to make, and can be used for breakfasts during the week.  When I serve these, people almost always ask for the recipe!  I used this recipe, from The Simple Veganista, with the following modifications.   In North Bay, at the moment, the only place I can find reasonably-priced garbanzo bean flour is at Walmart, but you can also get it made by Bob's Red Mill in health food sections, and at bulk stores.    However, I just realized, from looking at the recipe closer, that 'gram flour' is garbanzo bean flour!!!   Now, I have to go and check all the international sections again, I'll bet it is at Freshco!  

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups chickpea flour (aka, garbanzo bean flour, gram flour)
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• whatever veggies you have handy (I used a zucchini, a red onion, about 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, and sliced black olives)
• vegan shredded cheese. My new favourite brand is Violife, but I used Daiya for this batch 

Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. If not using a non-stick muffin tin (I use a silicone muffin pans these days), lightly grease with oil or use muffin liners.
Prepare the veggies: Fry the veggies in advance OR you can finely dice them.  
Mix: In a large mixing bowl, combine the chickpea flour, optional nutritional yeast, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, and basil. Whisk in the water (batter will be runny, but that’s normal). Add the veggies, mix to combine.
Scoop: Using a ¼ measuring cup, scoop the batter into the muffin tin, filling all 12 holes. Top with the shredded vegan cheese.
Bake: Place in the oven, on the center rack, and bake for 35 – 45 minutes (depending on the veggies used). Do the toothpick test by sticking it in the center of a muffin, if it comes clean, frittatas are ready. If cooking for 35 minutes and the center seems soggy, let them cool, and they will stiffen up nicely.
Remove from oven, turn out frittatas, and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Store: Leftovers can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator, or on the counter. Reheat in the oven.​

,Jerk Kidney Bean Stew

I have a patient, who is a vegan athlete, who asked me to put together a meal plan for him.   It was a great challenge!   I did a bunch of research so that my suggestions could be as current, and evidence-based, as possible.   It was a great reminder that sesame and chia seeds are top-notch sources of calcium.   It also led me to the book 'The No Meat Athlete Cookbook by Matt Frazier and Stepfanie Romine.'   Here is a link to Frazier's super informative website.   It's an amazing book and resource!  It's just the way I try to approach food - making it practical, varied, and healthful.  

So, this recipe comes from the cookbook, but I modified it so much, I'm actually not certain whether it isn't my recipe now.  Also, I can't find a link to the recipe available online.  I like nothing more than an easy dish that has new flavours!

So, I made this seasoning:

• one tbsp garlic powder
• two tsp brown sugar
• two tsp dried thyme
• two tsp onion powder
• two tsp salt
• one tsp black pepper
• one tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Then, I made the dish itself with: 

• one large bunch of chard, rinsed and roughly chopped
• one yellow onion, diced
•  one 796 ml/ 28 fl oz can of diced tomatoes
• one 540 ml can of dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• about 300 ml of strained tomatoes 
• three tbsp of the jerk spice
• and, one package of frozen cauliflower rice to serve it on

How I did it: 

• first, I fried the onion in olive oil
• then, I added the spice and fried everything for a few more minutes
• then, I dumped everything else in the pot, and cooked it at a medium heat until it reduced a bit
• last, I served it on the cauliflower rice 

Lentil Loaf

I don't remember my parents ever making meatloaf as a kid, or being served it much as an adult, but I'm certainly enjoying the vegan versions now!   

A lot of people have difficulty digesting beans and lentils.   This can be for four main reasons:

• a food sensitivity 
• a deficiency in digestive secretions that we use to break down beans
• an imbalance in the population and location of bacteria in your digestive tract
• a reaction to some of the compounds naturally found on beans, such as phytic acid

If you're wondering about which of these applies to you, best to talk to your health-care practitioner.   For me, my reaction is definitely the last one, and I find that when beans are made in a factory it breaks down the phytic acid better than any amount of soaking, sprouting, boiling, and pressure cooking I can do at home.   So, for me, the toxins that come from the can lining are the lesser of two evils. 

* Side note - Never, EVER, prepare beans at home by just slow cooking them!   You've got to bring them to a rolling boil for a few minutes first!  

Anyway, back to the dish at hand.  I used this recipe, with the following modifications:

Ingredients

• one 540 ml can of cooked lentils, rinsed and drained (the recipe calls for just over one cup of cooked lentils, if you want to make from scratch)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• ½ large onion about 1 heaping cup, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 rib of celery chopped
• 1 carrot peeled and chopped
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 3 Tablespoons tamari
• 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Maple Sweetened Glaze:

• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ½ Tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• pinch of sea salt

​

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 375°F
• Toast walnuts by spreading them onto a baking sheet and toasting in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a medium sauté pan and cook onions, garlic, carrots and celery until they've softened and become fragrant. About 5-10 minutes. Once cooked remove from stovetop to cool.
• Add lentils (reserve ½ cup for later), cooked veggies, toasted walnuts, oats, tamari, tomato paste, ground flaxseed, nutritional yeast, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, thyme, oregano, basil, cayenne pepper, ground pepper and sea salt to the food processor. Pulse until mixture is just combined and the texture is to your liking. You want the mixture to be combined enough to stick together, but you don't want it to be completely pulverized.
• Stir in the reserved lentils and press mixture into a silicone loaf pan.  The recipe calls for a parchment lined loaf pan (9" x 5" x 2½").
• In a small bowl stir together glaze ingredients and spread the glaze over top of the loaf.
• Bake covered with silicone pot or bowl covers for 25 minutes. (I learned this trip from a friend!   Instead of using foil once and sending it to the landfill, just put silicone over top of your dish when it needs to be baked covered!)  Uncover and bake for about 8 more minutes. Let the loaf rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
• Store leftovers in a sealed container for up to 5 days in the fridge. Or freeze for up to 1 month.

Pasta Salad - Christmas Colours Edition

Kind of funny that my last post was a chickpea noodle salad too!   I winged this salad, and it turned out SO, SO GOOD!    

First of all, a shout out to Dags and Willow, where a few of these new (to me) ingredients came from!  

Secondly, OH MY GOSH these chickpea noodles from Maria's homestyle Noodles were so good.   I didn't even understand how good noodles could be.  They cooked easily, held their shape, and didn't harden up at all once they cooled down....which is actually a miracle (for those of you familiar with gluten-free noodles).   At first I thought they were a bit pricey, but once I compared the package size with Chickapea noodles (see previous post), they're actually about the same price.   I have another package of their green pea noodles to try, and I'll report back.  I will definitely be placing an online order. 

Last but not least, thanks to Adoro olive oils and vinegars for their delicious products. 

Okay, so this salad was made with (rough estimates, I didn't measure):

• one package of reginette noodles 
• one sliced and lightly steamed zucchini
• two jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
• one half red onion, diced
• one large handful of snap peas, cut into pieces, and left to sit on the freshly drained noodles, so they wilted just a little bit 
• one half of a small jar of sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• one package of cherry tomatoes, halved
• one half cup of pine nuts
• two tablespoons of capers 
• one small jar of Sweety Drop Peruvian peppers  
• one third cup of olive oil
• one third cup of lemon balsamic vinegar 

I'm obsessed with the Sweety Drop peppers too.  

Pasta and ChEEZE

I've never made anything like this before, and it turned out AMAZING!   I wasn't expecting it to be so delicious, and I didn't write any quantities down.  So, following is my best memory of what I did.  I highly recommend noodles made with lentils.  They taste good, they hold together, their flavour doesn't overwhelm dishes, and they make you feel really full.   I recommend you look for noodles that aren't mixed with rice, as we tend to get enough of that in our diet. 

Ingredients:

• One package of lentil and chickpea noodles (pictured below, purchased at Sobeys)
• A few large handfuls of snap peas
• One medium zucchini, sliced
• One third of a cup of home-made chicken broth
• About a third of a package of Daiya Cheddar Shreds
• Five large cloves of garlic, put through a garlic press
• About three tablespoons of nutritional yeast 

Instructions:

• Get a pot of water boiling, and then add the package of noodles, and stir it regularly while the noodles get soft
• Put the peas and zucchini in a large pan with the chicken broth on a medium-high heat.   Once it heats up, add the garlic.   Don't overcook, you're basically just warming the vegetables up
• Once, the noodles are done, drain them and add them to the large pan with the vegetables, the shreds, and the nutritional yeast.  Stir until the shreds melt and the broth has evaporated
• Add salt and pepper to taste

Chili (Leftovers)

I hesitated for quite some time about buying an Instant Pot.  I try not to fill my kitchen with electric gadgets that end up in landfills.   I seriously considered buying a stainless steel pressure cooker (to replace the aluminum one that was passed down in my family) instead (because it would last forever).   I finally decided it was worth it to combine a rice cooker, slow cooker, and pressure cooker in one device.   I WAS NOT WRONG!    It takes a little bit of work to get into the habit of using it, but then it makes life incredibly easy.  All the convenience of using a pressure cooker without any of the fear of a small explosion in your kitchen!   

For leftovers, I have a small collection of thermoses I choose from to carry them to work.  If I pre-warm the thermos with hot water, my lunch is always piping hot, even if I eat it late. 

For the chili, I used this recipe, with the following modifications: 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped 
• 3 medium yellow summer squash, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water or chicken stock
• 2 15 oz cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Instructions:

• Turn your Instant Pot to Saute. Add the olive oil. Add the meat and cook until browned, breaking up the beef as you stir.
• Add the squash, onion, and garlic, and cook for 3 more minutes or until softened.
• Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, salt, pepper, brown sugar, bay leaves,  and tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
• Pour in the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock and beans and stir to combine. Press MANUAL or High Pressure on the instant pot and cook for 15 minutes. Allow the chili to natural release for 10 minutes.

Salmon and Carrot Salad

The neat thing about this meal, besides it being delicious, is that it is FODMAP-friendly.  

The salad was made with: 

• Arugula
• Raw Celery
• Canned salmon, warmed and seasoned
• Dressing made with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, a bit of mustard, salt, and pepper

AND

Carrot Fries!   I used this recipe, with the following modifications:
Ingredients:

• about four large carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp dried dill weed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili powder

Instructions:

• Drizzle carrots with olive oil; then sprinkle the dill, salt, paprika, and chili powder. Toss & bake in air fryer on fry setting for 15 minutes or until crispy enough for you. 

Sweet Potato Vermicelli, Black Beans, and Cilantro

I threw this dish together with what I had in the fridge.   I would have added avocados, if I had them.   It turned out really good, although many of you will want to add a little bit of hot sauce.   Here is what I did, in the order that I did it. 

• I chopped up a yellow onion and fried it in my cast iron frying pan with some olive oil. 
• I opened a can of black beans, and drained and rinsed the beans.
• When the onions were translucent, and starting to brown, I added the beans and about two tablespoons of lime juice.   I left them to fry at a medium high heat until all the liquid had evaporated. 
• I cut a zucchini into half medallions and dumped it on top of the bean mixture, and then added some salt on top of the zucchini.  I didn't stir it, I just turned the heat down to low, put a lid on, and left the zucchini to steam. 
• I soaked and then spun, an entire bunch of cilantro in a salad spinner.   I find cilantro often has a lot of grit on it.   Then, I roughly chopped it up.  I also sliced up an entire bunch of green onions.  
• I brought a large pot of water to boil, and then gently pushed about half the package of the noodles below to surface of the water to boil for six minutes.  I find these noodles at Independent, but you can find lots of varieties of bean or starch vermicelli like this at other stores.   Don't make the mistake I've made in the past and push the noodles in too aggressively, they'll splash boiling water back up at your face!   Once they were done, I drained them and added about a teaspoon of cumin powder and about four tablespoons of tamari sauce.   
• Last but not least, I mixed everything together in a big bowl.  I broke up the noodles a bit, so they'd mix better with the veggies.  

Burrito! 

For those of you who have been eating gluten-free for a while, you will remember the absolute travesty that was the Daiya gluten and dairy-free pizza.   It was, quite literally, inedible.    Well, Daiya got their act together, and now their pizza is the best on the food sensitivity market (in my opinion) AND this burrito is shockingly good.  You can get it at Independent.   This is a nice way to have a substantial breakfast on a busy morning (like the first business day of the New Year).   Happy New Year everyone!   

Filipino Beef Kare Kare

When it's a pandemic, and you live in the Near North, you have to make your own ethnic dishes!

I used this recipe, with the following variations.

Ingredients:

• ​one package of beef stewing cubes from Dalew Farms [I am told this recipe is really meant to be made with Oxtail, which tastes much better]
• one cup of Soda Water from my Soda Stream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• one eggplant, cut into elongated slices
• one package of fresh okra from Freshco, tops and bottoms sliced off
• one medium bag of baby bok choy, ripped apart and rinsed
• three tablespoons peanut butter 
• five teaspoons of minced garlic
• one medium yellow onion, chopped 
• two tablespoons gluten free Tamari sauce (I intend to use fish sauce next time, but this was the best alternative to the traditional shrimp paste used in this recipe)
• a mix of one half tablespoon ground turmeric to 1.5 tablespoons ground paprika [This is to replace the colour from the Annatto seeds, which I don't have access to]
• two teaspoons of Sambal Oelek
• salt to taste
• olive oil

Directions:

• Rinse the beef, and then soak in the soda water until it is time to cook it
• Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil on Sauté function in your Instant Pot.  Add the black pepper and two teaspoons of the garlic. 
• Once the garlic is sautéed, drain and add the beef and fry for a couple of minutes, until the beef has changed colour.
• Add two cups of water and cook on 'Manual' for 50 minutes (on my Intant Pot this is the basic pressure cooker setting.  If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can pressure cook or slow cook the beef to make it soft.)
• Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a wok.   Add one teaspoon of the garlic.  Add the eggplant and okra and stir fry on high heat until about halfway done.   Then add the bok choy and finish frying until just tender.   Remove the veggies from the pan.
• Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok.  Add the onion, two teaspoons of the garlic, and the ground spice mixture.   Sauté a few minutes, until garlic is no longer raw. 
• Add the peanut butter, the tamari sauce, the Sambal Oelek, and the beef broth (I used all the broth, but you can use less if you want the sauce to be thicker).    Cook until sauce bubbles. 
• Then, add the meat and vegetables and cook until warmed through. 
• Crushed peanuts would have been nice on top of this dish, but I didn't have any.  

 ​
When you make a special Filipino dish you HAVE to eat it with freshly made white rice.  It's a rule.   Ask a Filipino person, they'll tell you ;)   

I cannot sing the praises of Dalew Farms enough.  They're local, they're nice, they're humane, and the meat is delicious!    The also put a lot of work into Click Fork, which is a local online farmers' market worth taking a look at.