Rustic White Beans and Mushrooms (Veganomicon)

Another Veganomicon masterpiece. I got pretty burnt out on beans and rice when I first started eating vegetarian, plus I rarely repeat recipes, because I like to try new things. However, this bean dish was good enough that I was craving it the next day and ended up making it again within a week. Don't try to substitute canned beans for dry here. Plan ahead and soak your beans overnight or the morning of. Plus, dry beans are cheaper anyway.

Ingredients

2 cups dried white beans, soaked for 8+ hours
1 small onion, peeled & sliced in half
1 stalk celery, cut in two pieces
1 small carrot, cut in half lengthwise
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried tarragon, or 2 tbsp fresh
1/4 cup olive oil (I use a little less than this, but your butt is probably smaller than mine)
2 large cloves minced garlic
1 large leek, sliced thinly
1/2 pound mushrooms, your choice, rinsed & sliced thinly
1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
freshly ground pepper

Drain & rinse the beans and transfer them to a big pot. Add 4 cups of cold water and bring to a boil for about 3 minutes. Skim off white foam from the top. Lower the heat to medium, & add the onion, celery, carrot, thyme, & tarragon. Cover & simmer for 45 minutes, until beans are very tender.

Remove onion, carrot, & celery. Discard or save it for a veggie broth. Lower heat to low and continue simmering while you prepare the other vegetables. The beans should be thick like a stew, not soupy. I've found that it takes a little longer than 45 minutes, but that could be my stove. If it's too liquidy, leave the top off and stir occasionally.

About 10 minutes before the beans are done, place the garlic & 2 tbsp olive oil in a cold skillet, and heat over medium, allowing the garlic to sizzle for 30 seconds. Add the chopped leek & saute until it's soft, a couple minutes. Add the cooked leeks to the beans. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil (or a little less), and add the mushrooms. Sprinkle them lightly with 1/2 tsp salt and saute until most of the mushroom liquid is gone, between 8 and 12 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the beans when most of the liquid is evaporated. Turn off the heat & season with remaining salt & pepper. Let the beans stand for a few minutes before serving.

I served this over rice, but I'm sure it would be amazing with southern cornbread or any other grain as well.

If you like these recipes, consider buying Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero's book, Veganomicon. I try to avoid posting TONS of their recipes, but sometimes they're too good not to. I cook from this book several times a week. Give them your money. You won't regret it.

A Guacamole Recipe

Everyone's got one. This is mine. It's a pretty basic shell that I occasionally add some extras to & rarely actually do any measuring. You'll want to double the recipe for big parties. This is a good size for a couple people to snack on or for a meal add-on. Just a tip... I like to keep red onions and tomatoes on hand for guacamole and sandwich toppings. You don't use the entire vegetable here, so put them in a salad or sandwich instead of throwing them away.

Ingredients
2 ripe avocados (reserve one pit)
1/2 small tomato
1/3 medium red onion
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp lime juice
salt & pepper to taste

Optional add-ins: dried cumin, chopped fresh cilantro, and/or chopped jalapeno

Mash all the ingredients together until the avocado is mostly smooth with a few chunks. Taste test and adjust ingredients as necessary. If you don't plan to eat all of it right away, put the pit back in to keep it from browning rapidly. And if it lasts long enough to make it to the fridge, press some plastic wrap down on top of the guacamole, instead of just covering the bowl. It'll stay green much longer that way.

Mock Tuna Salad

I was wracking my brain for something easy and vegan to take to the beach while friends were visiting, and I ended up finding this on someone's blog, who had found it on someone else's blog. It was freakin' goooooooooooood. We made wraps, but you could totally use it on a sandwich or salad. A double batch made 4 pretty large wraps, and would probably make double that many sandwiches. Sorry for the lack of pictures. We were in a hurry.

Ingredients:
1(15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained (or 1.5 c. cooked)
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/3 cup minced celery
2.5 tbsp minced dill pickle (about 1 small whole pickle, or a big pickle slice)
1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 green onion, chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp kelp powder
pepper, to taste

Mash up the chickpeas with a fork, then mix all the ingredients together. Voila!

Curry Cashew Casserole

When I found this recipe in The Urban Vegan, I was under the assumption that it would be something quick and easy, since I'll be doing some heavy cooking for friends later this week. It was pretty quick and easy, but what I did not anticipate was how amazingly good it would be. It's filling, creamy, & flavorful. This casserole is the shit. That annoying thing omnivores say, "I don't even miss the meat!" They'll say it about this.

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp cashew butter
1/2 cup rice milk (I used soy)
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped finely
2 tbsp red curry paste (The recipe actually calls for 1-2 tsp, but I liked it this way.)
1 head broccoli, chopped into 1-inch pieces
15 oz can diced tomatoes, including juice
15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt

Optional:
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 red or yellow pepper, sliced thinly
1 yellow squash, sliced thinly

I used the mushrooms and red pepper, not the squash. Do what works for you though.

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the cashew butter, rice milk, and basil. The recipe says to add curry paste in small increments until you reach the desired heat, but I used more than the recipe called for and it wasn't hot. So I'm going to say use 2 tablespoons. Do it. You wanna. Mix all that together until there aren't any clumps left.

3. Toss the rest of the ingredients in and mix until combined and well coated.

4. Put it in a big casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for another 15 or so until the sauce is thick.

Serve with rice or some other grain.

Picnic Pasta Salad

This tangy pasta salad is great for picnics and potlucks. I made it today (the Fourth of July) to go with our veggie burgers & grilled asparagus later this evening. Originally, my mom made this with tons of cheese, so I've basically cut out the cheese and added more veggies, plus made the dish a little smaller. It'll still easily serve four to six people, but double the recipe if you have lots of people to feed.

Ingredients

2 cups bite-sized pasta, your choice
2 oz chopped olives (half of one of those little cans... or just use the whole thing if you really like olives)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
a pinch of sugar
salt & pepper

Cook the pasta until al dente, drain & rinse with cold water to keep it from cooking longer. Whisk the dressing together, then pour over pasta, enough to coat. Season with salt & pepper. Chill in the fridge for a while, then enjoy!

Whatever-You've-Got Paninis

You know that thing your mom or grandmother used to do, where they'd take a bunch of random stuff out of the fridge, throw it in a pot, and call it soup? This is sort of the same idea. Use whatever veggies and bread you have on hand. I happened to have a loaf of rye that needed to be used, so I bought a couple other things and used some stuff I already had. This isn't so much a recipe as it is an idea for you to check out and make your own.

My ingredients:

Rye bread, sliced for sandwiches
Portobello mushrooms, cut into long slices
Red bell pepper, cut into long slices
Red onion, sliced thinly
Lightlife "Pepperoni"
Daiya soy mozzarella
Basil, dry
Oregano, dry
Light Italian dressing
Olive oil


I prefer to pre-cook my vegetables before putting them on the sandwich. I cooked the onion in olive oil until almost caramelized, then added the red pepper, and seasoned all of that with basil, oregano, and Italian dressing. I cooked the mushroom separately until all the water from the mushroom was released, then seasoned it with the same stuff.

Next, I coated the outside of the bread with olive oil, packed on all the veggies, plus pepperoni and daiya, and smashed it in a pre-heated panini press until dark golden brown.

Substitute whatever vegetables, spices, bread, or various other toppings you happen to have on hand, and you're set!

Flakey Chickpea Pot Pie

This is Southern comfort food at its finest. To make the dish a little less Fatty McFatFat, I topped the pie with flattened crumbly dough, rather than covering it completely. If you want to do it the old-fashioned way, just double the crust recipe, and you'll have plenty

Ingredients

Crust:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cold water

Pie filling:

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed ("Classic" mix works great, but use whatever you want. Just make sure it's not pre-seasoned.)
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium to large potato, diced small
2 cups chickpeas* (or one 15-16 oz can)
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2/3 cup soy milk
1/3 cup non-hydrogenated vegan margarine (Earth Balance is good & easy to find)
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp thyme

Prepare the pie crust first.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, and gradually work in the oil and water until crumbly. You might have to work it with your hands, and it'll probably fall apart a little. That's fine... it'll be nice and flakey after it cooks. Chill the dough for a half hour or so.

When the dough is ready, separate about 2/3 of it for the bottom crust. Stuff it into a 9 inch round pie dish, or a small square casserole dish if you don't have one. You want it to completely cover the bottom and to cover the sides as well as possible. It's not a big deal if it's a little messy.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium sized pot, melt the margarine over medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent. Stir in the flour, salt, & pepper, and then gradually stir in the broth & soy milk. Cook until well-blended & thick... sort of the consistency of gravy. Add the mixed vegetables, chickpeas, & potato, mixing well, and remove from heat. Fill the pie dish with the vegetable mixture, packing it in tight.

Now flatten out pieces of crust and lay them randomly across the top, leaving cracks between them. If you made the double crust recipe, flatten it out and lay it across the top, pinching the edges to attach it to the bottom. Cut a few slits in it to let steam out.

Bake at 425 for about 30-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool for a few minutes before you try to cut it.

*I'd like to say something about chickpeas. Cans are fine for convenience, but if you have the option, the taste and texture of cooked dried beans is so much better. I like to keep some pre-cooked in stock for various recipes. I soak them in water all day, cook them in a slow cooker on low all night, and then freeze them in 1 and 2-cup batches to use when needed.