Lemon Rice with Chickpea Pancakes filled with Curried Chickpeas

This is the first meal I can say I'm pretty proud of in a while.  I've made plenty that is tasty but this had the potential to be pretty.  It needed a little green though no?  Sprinkle of coriander perhaps.  This one is actually really easy.  You can make all or parts of this well ahead of time and just reheat as needed.

Lemon Rice with Chickpea Pancakes and Curry Chickpea Filling

This meal came together from a few different sources.  I have been making the lemon rice from Dino's Alternative Vegan for a while now.  Always very tasty and the Noodle likes it too.  As a side note, I recommend the podcast too although it's been a bit quiet as of late.  But I can definitely sympathize with running out of time everyday.  I don't really modify the recipe so much as leave things out that I don't have and it's always good.  I never have curry leaves around (my pantry space/refrigerator space is just too limited right now for little extras).  I also usually don't have the nuts on hand and just skip them although I suspect a teeny bit of nut butter would also be a tasty flavor addition if you are opposed to whole or chopped nuts.

The pancakes came from Madhur Jaffrey on BBC food.  I wanted something thin pancake-ish but with only chickpea flour to make the meal gluten free.  These were silly easy to put together and cook.  My mods to these was to leave out the chillies and the ajwain.  I used a dash of powdered coriander seed rather than fresh which I never have on hand and I cut the garlic back to two cloves.  I love love love garlic but I wanted to keep them toddler friendly.

The curried chickpea filling and the coconut sauce are based on recipes from reFresh by Ruth Tal.  I haven't made as many recipes from this book as I'd like but I've made this a couple times now and it's super tasty and easily kid friendly.  Well my kid as she loves loves loves coconut.

Curried Chickpea Filling

Based on "Curried Garbanzo Filling" reFresh by Ruth Tall (pg. 101)

2 cloves garlic, minced (more if you want!)

1 onion, small dice

1 carrot, small dice

1 bell pepper, small dice

1-2 medium hot chillies, minced (optional)

1 Tb ground cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)

4 c (850 g) cooked/canned chickpeas, drained

1/4 c tomato paste (could use a fresh tomato or 2 here instead)

Heat a medium pot over medium heat.  Add veggies and spices and cook until soft, stir occationally.

Mash chickpeas (or pulse with food processor) but leave them a little chunky.  Add chickpeas and tomato to the saucepan and mix.  Continue to cook until heated through.

Spiced Coconut Sauce

Based on "Coconut Curry Sauce" reFresh by Ruth Tal (pg. 86)

1 onion,  small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tb garam masala

3 Tb flour of choice (wheat, spelt, rice)

2 c (500 mL) vegetable broth

1 can (400 mL) coconut milk

2 Tb tomato paste (or a couple chopped tomatoes)

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook 5 minutes or until the onion is soft.  Add spices and flour and cook stirring for 1 minute.

Slowly stir (or whisk) in the vegetable broth taking care to avoid lumps.  Then stir in the coconut and tomato.  Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally cooking 30 minutes.

All about the bechamel

This month's challenge was a familiar favorite but still had it's challenge. First I want to have a little rave about the Daring Baker's new look. They have the new site up and running so check out The Daring Kitchen! And how awesome are the new logos?! Here is the whole new crew of Daring Kitchen mascots. I can't decide who to use.
Anyway, back to the challenge. The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge. I am a Splendid Table listener. I used to try and catch The Splendid Table at it's scheduled time on NPR but I am usually working so it was a fairly rare occation. Then I discovered podcasts and haven't looked back since. Of course now I'm addicted to podcasts but there are worse things to become addicted to (isn't it funny we use this line everytime we find ourselves spending too much time with something, "There are worse things to be addicted to.")

Moving right along. The first thing you need for a good lasagne is the noodles. This brings us to the part of this challenge that was the challenge. I have never made pasta from scratch before and the Lynne's recipe calls for eggs so taking the suggestion of other alternative Daring Bakers I tried out Bryanna Clark Grogan's recipe. This was a good move. Pasta came out fantabulous and I highly recommend it for any of your pasta needs. Even me, who usually screws up these things on the first try, got it to turn out well easily the first time.

After the pasta I just needed to decide on sauce and cheeziness. I kept it simple. I find the simplier the better for the taste and for my time management. I wanted to stay within the components of the original recipe which included something I have never used in a lasagne before, Bechamel Sauce. I've never heard of this. Has anyone else? Is this a wonderful secret that has been kept from me all these years? It's pure genious! So smooth and creamy. I happened to have Veganrella in my fridge from a friend but in the future I don't think I'll be using any cheese sub at all. The bechamel is perfect for that creamy factor.

Bechamel Sauce

4 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan margarine
4 tablespoons all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups nondairy milk of choice (I used almond)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the margarine over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

I kept the marinara sauce simple. I'm not even sure you'd call this a recipe. Just heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add a little oil or water just to prevent sticking. Add a chopped onion and 4 minced cloves of garlic. Cook 5ish minutes. Add a large can of diced tomatoes. Add some oregano, basil, a little salt if you like. That's pretty much it. To add some extra protein to the mix I rehydrated some soy/tvp chunks I happened to have around but you could use cooked lentils, tvp mince, veggie crumbles, crumbled tempeh, whatevs.
To assemble this beautiful masterpiece (ok it doesn't look that beautiful but I never claimed to be a photographer). I boiled a layer of pasta at a time and applied the fillings as the next layer was cooking. So first add a little bechamel sauce to the bottom of your pan (I used a 9x13"), then noodles, then a little more bechamel, then tomato sauce, grate vegan cheeze if using, fleck a bit more bechamel on there, another layer of noodles, bechamel, tomato sauce, cheeze & bechamel. Continue this wonderful cycle as long as you can finishing with cheese and bechamel on top. Bake about 30 mins covered with foil and uncover and bake a bit more to brown up the top a bit.

I'm pretty damn excited to have successfully made my own vegan noodles and I will definitely be doing this again because it was so easy and it feels great to have a much better understanding of what exactly is going into your food.

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant is a great read. I definitely recommend picking it up from the library next time you are there but this post isn't about this book.

While in City Market a couple days ago I remembered to look in the sale produce section. The section is more like a couple baskets set a top one of the regular produce cases. They aren't very flashy (why would they be?) and they are mostly hidden almost exactly behind one of the hanging scales they have dotted about the place . So, whenever I have a final glance around before heading off to the bulk bins I usually miss having a look in them. This time I remembered. Often there isn't much to find there, some rediculously ripe avocados (way beyond guacamole stage I think), potatoes with eyes that have grown into something more like arms or legs, squashes well and truely beaten but it's always worth a look. In the past I have found bags of citrus that didn't look awesome but knowing that they would be fine to juice I snatched them up. This time there were two glorious eggplants. Why are these beautiful eggplants in here I wonder and pick them up to investigate. I found they both had been slightly damaged, an indentation as though from the corner of something had punctured each of them but otherwise they were perfect. I grabbed them without a second thought.

I don't know if I've ever really mentioned it here but I love eggplant. Love it. Strangely I don't eat it all that often. When Lex and I are in Greece we eat it almost daily (along with far too many olives but I'm pretty sure this has been covered). These eggplant would be roasted. The best way to enjoy it. This is not up for debate by the way, my mind is set. This brings me to a super simple and delicious dinner I whipped up for us last evening.

This can be prepared easily a few different ways depending on preference and doesn't require much in the way of ingredients. I just love the sweet creaminess that roasted eggplants impart. Why oh why don't I cook them more often?

Roast Eggplant & Tofu Pasta

3-4 servings whole grain spaghetti (or other whole grain pasta)
2 medium eggplants
1 lb extra firm tofu
14oz can diced tomatoes
Herbs of choice to taste (basil, oregano, thyme, whatever you have that sounds good)
Salt & pepper to taste

First roast your eggplant. Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with foil (clean up can be a nightmare). Wash your eggplants and prick a few times with a fork to allow the steam to escape. We don't want any explosions. Roast until eggplants until they deflate, insides will become very soft. You can allow the skin char a bit, about 40 mins. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile press your tofu for about 30 mins to force out some of the moisture. Cut it up into cubes or whatever shapes you desire. Prepare the fu either by browning it in a pan with a bit of oil or baking it (this can cut calories as you don't need to use oil if you do not wish) in the oven for about 30 mins, turning at least once to allow all sides to brown.

Start pot of water for pasta to boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions for al dente (or prefered texture). Continue on to prepare sauce while pasta cooks. Drain pasta when ready, rinse with cold water to stop cooking and set aside.

Once you can handle your eggplants, open them up and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Discard skins. Using a fork mash the eggplant a little just to help break it up.

Heat a medium sized pan over medium heat. Add tomatoes and mashed eggplant and heat through. Add in herbs, salt & pepper. Tasting as you go. Add in prepared tofu. Allow flavors to combine. Add pasta to sauce mixture and toss to coat. Serve it up and enjoy.

Mango Tango

Or more accurately Mango Teriyaki Tofu with Brown Jasmine Rice from Vegetarian Times June 2008. Mine is slightly modified because as usual, I can't leave well enough alone.
I've always found VT recipes to be hit or miss or not vegan. This one was vegan and I had a mango ripe and ready.

Mango-Teriyaki Tofu with Brown Jasmine Rice
Sauce
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup tamari
2 Tbs sugar
Tofu & Rice
1 1/4 cups brown jasmine rice
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb tofu, drained and cut into 12 slices
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Add rice, salt and 2 cups water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer 25-30 mins, until liquid has been absorbed.

Make you mango sauce. Puree all sauce ingredients in blender until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer stirring. Remove from heat.

Heat grill pan over medium heat, spray with cooking spray. Coat tofu slices with mango sauce and grill 3 mins per side (rotate slice 45 degrees to get cross hash grill pattern).

Stir 1/3 cup scallions, 1 tsp sesame seeds and sesame oil into rice. Mound rice on plate. Add tofu. Drizzle with remaining sauce and the sprinkle with remaining scallions and sesame.

Ultimate Comfort

If I were to make a list of all time ultimate comfort foods pot pie would be in the top 5. Even before I went to the vegan side I loved loved loved pot pie. Unfortunately most of those pot pie experiences were from the frozen food section of the super market. As most ingredient conscious people know, the frozen food section is rarely a smart place to be. Even as a vegan the freezer section can be a pronunciation nightmare. I admit I can be found there from time to time (maybe more than I'd like to confess) but frozen pot pies are a rarity in the vegan variety and even if you find one it's probably going to be a disappointment. Barely any filling ingredients, too much gravy, not enough gravy. So needless to say, I don't get my pot pies all that often. Sure I could make them but in case I haven't mentioned it yet, I am pie dough challenged (because we're being all PC here). The doughs always taste fine, I can salvage them into something usable but they just don't work like they are supposed to. I can't just roll them out, can't fold them or drape them to place them in a pan or on top of a pie. They brake, crack, laugh at me. It's all very distressing.

Dispite my dough ineptity I really really really wanted a pot pie and I wanted it the right way. Lots of filling ingredients, smooth creamy gravy, flakey crust, the works. The result was perfect! I even was able to transport the dough from the counter to the pie and everything. It all worked.
Ok the husband helped me. Those are his leaves. Aren't they cute? I did roll out and place the dough though, my biggest challenge.

Seitan Pot Pie

Filling
3 Tb Earth Balance margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lg potato, scrubbed & diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 med carrots
Salt & pepper
1 lb seitan, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb green beans, frozen or fresh cut into 1" pieces
1/2 lb peas, fresh or frozen
Sauce
1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup flour
2 1/2 cup vegetable stock (or 2 1/2 cup water with a veggie boullion cube)
1/2 cup almond milk
Salt & pepper
Crust
1 cup chilled Earth Balance
3 cups flour
10oz cold vegan cream cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

For the filling, melt the margarine in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion & potato. Saute for about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic, bell pepper, carrots and cook for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Stir in the salt and pepper to taste. Add the seitan, green beans & peas. Set aside.

For the sauce, melt the margarine over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the flour, mixing until smooth. Slowly whisk in the stock keeping the mixture smooth. Add almond butter, salt & pepper. Pour the sauce over the filling and mix.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Get a casserole dish or 9"x13" dish or even individual pie pans ready, lightly oil. Cut the margarine into little pieces. In the bowl of your food processor (with blade attachment), pulse margarine and flour until crumbly. Add cream cheese, salt & pepper. Continue pulsing until dough comes together into a ball. Roll the dough on a floured surface to a 1/4" thickness large enough to cover your pan or big enough to be cut into rounds to cover individual pans. Pour filling into pans. Cover with dough cutting off excess and press down edges. Place a baking sheet under whatever shape your dish is as there will almost certainly be some bubbling over and bake 20-25 mins.
This is easily open to modification. Add beans, corn, squash, whatever strikes your fancy. I need more pie.