Lazy day foods with BIG flavour

I haven't been in a cooking mood as of late. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I haven't been spending a lot of time at home. My hours at work have increased (yeah!) and the weather has been nicer so I've been spending more time outdoors...sometimes walking around the neighbourhood, or meeting up with pals for tea at a cafe or for a bite to eat.

Nevertheless, I did manage to whip up some quick and easy meals recently and wanted to document them and share them with you.

One dish I prepared was a quick and easy coconut tofu veggie stew which I served over brown rice. I didn't follow a recipe, I just visualized what would go well together and abracadabra instant tasty results. Creamy coconut with a spicy Indian curry kick.




Coconut Curry Stew

1 block of tofu - pressed and diced
3 tbs olive oil
1 whole onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced
1-inch knob of ginger, diced
1 zucchini cut lengthwise and sliced
3 cups veggie stock
2 tbs Patak's curry paste (whichever one you fancy)
2/3 to 1 can of coconut milk
1 tsp Thai chili sauce

1) Saute the onions, garlic and ginger in olive oil until wilted and slightly golden.
2) Add the zucchini and saute another 2 - 3 minutes.
3) Add the chili paste and stir the onions, garlic and zucchini ensuring that the paste has coated the veggies.
4) Add the stock to the pot and allow the veggies to simmer for 5 minutes.
5) Place the diced tofu cubes in the pot, place the lid on the pot and allow the whole mixture to simmer for 15 minutes.
6) Pour the coconut milk in the pot, stir and replace lid. Cook for another 10 minutes.
7) Prepare the rice as per package instructions.
8) Serve the coconut curry over the rice.
9) Add a few more drops of chili sauce if you prefer more heat.
10) Enjoy it hot!

The other meal I made was for my husband who was feeling sick and had a bad cough all week. I decided to make a lovely, fresh tasting carrot soup. I borrowed the recipe from the talented and always inspiring Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. (Just as an aside, about a year ago - by complete fluke - I landed on Laurie's blog and after reading a couple of her posts, I came to the realization that some of Laurie's posts where about the very same Greek island that my mother is from and where I have spent many summer vacations.) Wow! Small world!

I have never met Laurie but I feel that somehow I know her based on her descriptive and interesting stories of the life and food from this particular Greek island. One day, I hope to meet Laurie in person whether it be on the island or in Alaska (perhaps as a potential car raffle winner held in Alaska each year by the Greek community). For for now, I'll just enjoy the same foods that Laurie does.


Lemony Carrot Ginger Soup (adapted from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska)

2 cups diced onions
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cups vegetable (or chicken stock)
1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon peel
2 Tbsp. minced crystallized ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plain yogurt or cream (optional)

In a Dutch oven (or pot), sauté the onions, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, in olive oil until they soften and begin to turn golden. Stir in the carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, lemon peel, ginger, and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until the carrots are soft.

Purée the soup with a stick blender (or in a blender or food processor) until it is very smooth. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the lemon juice, and cook for five minutes. Taste and add salt, freshly ground black pepper, or lemon juice, as needed. If using yogurt or cream, stir it into the soup. Serve immediately.

Note: This soup is very delicious! It tastes as if there is orange juice in it but it's the lemon juice and zest which lends such a freshly squeezed taste. The inclusion of cinnamon is also a great addition to the soup as it enhances the carrot flavour. I also really like the crystallized ginger in the soup. There were plenty of leftovers to take with us to work the following day.

Carrot Slaw (and the case of the missing tahini jar)

After spotting a recipe for tahini ginger slaw on kickpleat's (of Everybody Likes Sandwiches) blog, I immediately developed a hankering for some.

I knew that I had NO cabbage in my fridge, but I did have two jumbo carrots. And, I knew that I had an unopened jar of tahini, which my mother had brought back from Greece last year. The question was, where did I stash the tahini jar?

After spending 10 minutes peering into every possible cupboard and pantry in the kitchen, I came to the (premature) conclusion that my dear husband has thrown it out! Grrr! Now, don't get me wrong, my husband will ask first before he disposes of something, but on occasion he will toss something if he is convinced that (a) the item has gone bad or (b) we do not need it.

Months ago, when I had brought the jar of tahini home, J had questioned me about whether we needed such a large jar of tahini. Are we really going to consume all that tahini to warrant having it take up space in our cupboard. My answer was yes!

Well, here I was, with shredded carrots in a bowl and the lemon juice and ginger and oil in another bowl, eagerly waiting for the creamy tahini to bind it all together. There was NO tahini in sight.

I called J at work. He said he did not recall tossing out the jar of tahini. I pushed on...blaming him for my current distress at not being able to complete my salad recipe. "That is your style," I argued. You're always tossing things out without asking me first!"

I was livid and wasn't thinking straight. I was also PMS-ing.

To make a long story short, I found the tahini, 5 minutes after I got off the phone with my husband. It was in a place where it should not have been...stored in a pantry drawer with my selection of teas and hot chocolate mixes. How it got there, I do not recall. Perhaps I put it there in a haste and forgot all about it. That is probably the case.

I felt so horrible afterward for blaming my husband over the MIA tahini. I sent him three e-mails at work apologizing profusely and yes, of course I blamed PMS. Wouldn't you?

So, here is what I did differently from kickpleat.

I used only carrots.
I added a handful of golden raisins.
I made her tahini dressing without the sweetener since the raisins add sweetness.
(I got angry at my husband)

dressing (adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches)
1 T tahini
juice of half a lemon
1 t minced fresh ginger
1/4 c olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

This carrot slaw was wonderfully ginger-y. If you enjoy the robustness of ginger then this salad offers the perfect balance by combining both the sweetness from the chewy raisins and the kick from the fresh ginger. The creamy tahini offers the slightest hint of sesame aroma. Quick, simple and flavourful!

pizza breakfast of champignons

Breakfast is one my favourite meals of the day but lately I've been getting quite bored with just the old standby: cereal, oatmeal or fried eggs. I was thinking what to make for breakfast one morning this week when I was inspired by a leftover tortilla I spotted lingering in my refrigerator.

At first, a traditional pizza came to mind...with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and some mushrooms. Simple enough, right? Well, I also felt that I needed something more breakfast-y to add to this dish. Something with a bit more protein other than just cheese. So I decided an egg would satisfy my quest .

I should also mention that the progression of this dish came to me as a flashback to a Jamie Oliver cooking episode where he made an authentic Italian pizza and cracked and egg (or two) onto the pizza, added some cheese, anchovies and capers called it a meal. Jamie's pizza seemed like an incredibly easy and tasty twist on traditional Western style pizza. I bet if smell-o-vision was available through my laptop, it would have smelled great too.

So that is basically what set the wheels in motion for me to make this "breakfast tortilla pizza".

Putting this dish together was very easy. The cheese was grated first and a well was formed in the middle of the "pizza" with the cheese, so that it would contain the raw egg without allowing it to run all over the place.

After this, it was just a matter of what kind of extras to add. I love mushrooms, so I knew they had to be present in this dish. Some spring onions were also added for a bit of colour and a flavour boost. And of course salt and pepper to taste.

Since I had the oven preheated, the "pizza" was ready in less than 15 minutes. The cheese had melted and the egg had firmed up. (No runny yolks for me, but feel free to bake your pizza for less time, if you like the runny yolk effect. Likewise, if you are bold and can handle anchovies at 9 a.m. then be my guest and add them to this dish as well.) The tortilla (my favourite part) was toasted and crispy and had developed a cracker-like crunch.

In the end, this pizza addressed all of my breakfast needs and gave me just the right amount of energy to tie me over until lunch. A perfect pizza breakfast of champignons and champions!

Fast and furious creamy spinach pasta

I usually cook a huge pot of something on Sundays and package it up for the week to have for lunch and/or dinner. It makes the start of the week easier to handle. This weekend, I did not get around to making my usual standby of assembly-line meals.

I was out most of the day on Monday and when I returned home I was famished. There was nothing to warm up and nosh on. After I devoured a can of smoked oysters with some bread, I began to think about what to make for dinner. I had less than an hour to make something before I scooted off to my Pilates class.

I decided to make spaghetti because it is fast and I had a hankering for carbs. I found this recipe for pasta with creamy spinach walnut sauce posted by eat me, delicious who adapted the original recipe from the "Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favourites."

Did I have any walnuts? No, but that didn't stop me. I used pine nuts instead.

The sauce, or pesto, as I like to call it was...delicious!

This is a forgiving recipe because although I only used 1 cup of cottage cheese (instead of 2 cups) and dried basil, rather than freeze-dried (not sure what that is), the sauce was not lacking in flavour or thickness.

Furthermore, I had no broccoli in the fridge so I skipped that part entirely.

But I did add a few glugs of extra virgin olive oil because I enjoy olive oil and it tastes great on pasta dishes. I guess since I added oil to this dish it can no longer be considered "low-fat."
Who cares? Let's move on...


So without further delay, here is my version to this recipe below:

3 cups packed fresh spinach
1/4 cup toasted pinenuts
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 lb pasta

Wash and clean the spinach. Steam the spinach on medium heat for about 4 minutes. Do not over cook. Remove spinach from steam basket. Shake off excess moisture or water from spinach.

In a food processor, add the spinach, pine nuts, cottage cheese, garlic, Parmesan, basil, and salt and puree until smooth. Add pepper to taste and set aside.

Make the pasta according to package instructions. For 'al dente' cook less. For softer pasta cook longer. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water to slow down the cooking process and to keep the pasta from sticking.

Transfer the cooked pasta into a large bowl and add a few more drops of olive oil. Then ask your sous chef, er...your husband/wife/partner to add the creamy spinach pesto to the pasta as you scoot out the door for Pilates, or whatever else you are in a hurry to get to. Oh! and ask them to also take a photo of the finished meal for your blog.

Lemony Hummus Soup for the Big Baby

There is a cold bug going around and I plan to keep it at bay. My husband "J" came home early today from work saying that he wasn't feeling well.

Well, that solves the dilemma of what to make for dinner. Soup!!

The next question was what kind of soup? Well, it MUST have garlic in it. And also a good source of Vitamin C in the the form of lemon juice. And a of course a protein source like chickpeas. Perhaps a vegetable or two of some kind...onions, peppers. That's it folks! Aside from the veggie stock and the seasonings, this is the makings of a thick and creamy, lemony chickpea soup. Once you puree it, of course.

I don't know about you, but I like to have some crusty bread with my soup. I had part of a stale baguette on the kitchen counter, that I thought I would slice into little crostinis with which to scoop up the soup. I grabbed a serrated knife to slice through the very hard bread and ended up slicing my finger in the process. Ouch! I dropped what I was doing to see the wound. Once I inspected the cut and saw that it wasn't too serious, I wrapped up the finger and went back to slicing the hard bread.


At the dinner table, I dove into the soup hungrily. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the soup was good. Really good! Tasty with a pronounced lemony twang and a thick and creamy consistency and...well, really good! J agreed with me too. He quickly devoured the soup between sniffles. We decided to re-name the soup, "hummus soup" (original name being Chickpea Lemon Soup) because it was almost like eating a bowl of piping, hot hummus. In the process of talking about this soup, I had almost forgotten about my throbbing, sore finger.

And what about the bread, you ask? Well, I dunked the stale bread into the soup and allowed the steam and the heat from the soup to soften it up. Yum! I was quite content.

How could such a simple sounding soup, taste so good? I only used a short list of everyday common ingredients. Nothing fancy. And it was fast to make also. Aside from the sliced finger, I would say making this soup was a painless experience.

This is the perfect meal for a cold day, a impending cold, a finger boo-boo and a big baby. Who's the big baby? I'll let you figure that one out for yourself :)

Lemony Hummus Soup (taken from David and Rachelle Bronfman's cookbook "CalciYum!")

3 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 cans, rinsed and drained
3 cups vegetable stock
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 small onions, chopped (I used 1 large onion)
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf (I used 2 leaves)
3 tbs lemon juice (I added more lemon juice at the end)
2 tbs chopped parsley (I omitted the parsley)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

1. In a large pot with a lid, combine all ingredients, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Remove bay leaf. In batches, with a blender or food processor, puree soup until smooth (or semi-smooth in my case), returning pureed soup to pot. Heat for another 5 minutes and serve.

In Pursuit of Warmth

As the west side of downtown Toronto is without power today, I consider myself very fortunate to be living in the east end. The weather here in Toronto for the past few days has been bitterly cold. Today is no exception with a current low of -10 degrees Celsius and dropping. As a result, I have had hearty stews on my mind lately.

I scoured the web the other day trying to find a recipe that I could prepare, and hoping that I would have all the ingredients on hand. No such luck. Then, I picked up my trusty Calci-Yum! dairy-free vegetarian cookbook that I bought over the summer. And bingo! there was THE perfect recipe staring right at me: Vegetarian Chunky Chili.

Just what I wanted: A steaming bowl of savoury, tangy chili with plenty of calcium, protein, fiber and iron. Perfect for this deep freeze we have been having in Toronto lately.

I have made this particular vegetarian chili recipe at least half a dozen times so far and I make it slightly different each time. In the past, I've used a combination of either black beans, or chick peas or red kidney beans. This time however, seeing that my pantry supply was dwindling, I used 2 cans of kidney beans only. No mix and mingle.

This chili is very tangy (as it has lots of various tomato sources) and not at all spicy - well to me it isn't. But you can always up the spice intensity, if you so desire. If you manage to have leftovers, which chances are you will (unless you are cooking for a family of five) it tastes even better the second and third day.

This recipe also calls for a block of firm crumbled tofu but again, I was out, so I used a block of silken soft tofu, which mostly dissolved in the liquid. However, there is a smattering of tiny white flecks of tofu still visible to the eye. Firmer tofu will thicken up the stew more, which I happen to prefer. Oh well. As long as the calcium is in there, I'm happy.

I also use canned tomatoes rather than fresh tomatoes because using fresh tomatoes in the dead of winter is just wrong on many levels. I find that canned whole, diced or crushed tomatoes taste better and are less acidic than fresh tomatoes. Sometimes, I also add a few plops of ketchup to sweeten things up.

On this particular occasion, making this chili was another case of 'use what you have in your pantry' recipe. Below, I've posted the original recipe straight from the cookbook, but I will also write out my substitutions, just so you can have that option should you choose to improvise. Improvising is always fun. Especially when the end result is still quite tasty.

Vegetarian Chunky Chili (taken from David & Rachelle Bronfman's book "CalciYum!")

1 (5.5 oz.) can tomato paste ( I used ketchup)
1/3 c dry red wine (I used red wine vinegar)
2 tbs Dijon mustard (I used 1 tsp powdered mustard and 1 tsp Dijon)
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs dried basil
2.5 tsp dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 lbs firm tofu, crumbled (I used a small block of silken soft tofu)
2 cans plum tomatoes with juice, chopped ( I used 1 can whole tomatoes and 1 can crushed)
2 tbs chili powder (feel free to increase this amount)
1 tbs olive oil (I'm Greek, so I like to use around 4 tbs olive oil)
2 small onions chopped (I used half a red onion and one leek stalk)
2 cups cooked black beans or 1 can rinsed and drained (I used 2 cans of kidney beans)
1.5 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tbs dried coriander

1. In a bowl combine tomato paste, red wine, mustard, soy sauce, basil, oregano, and garlic; mix well. Stir in crumbled tofu. Set aside.

2. In a large pot, combine tomatoes and chili powder. Simmer over low heat, covered, for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute 2 minutes. Add tofu mixture and cook for 1 more minute. Transfer to tomato chili mixture in pot; simmer stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes

4. Add beans, chickpeas, parsley and coriander. Simmer 10 minutes.

This chili definitely took the chill out of my bones.

To the thousands (nay, hundreds of thousands) of Torontonians without power for the past 12 hours, I feel your pain.

Roasted Tempeh with Creamy Dijon Sauce

When I first made the switch from meat to eating tofu and tempeh, I had no vegan/vegetarian cookbooks or friends to tell me how to properly prepare it. Through much trial and error, I believe I have finally mastered it.

I have learned a great deal about cooking by reading recipes from cooking sites and other food bloggers. For instance, I never used to press my tofu before marinading it until kickpleat from Everybody Likes Sandwiches suggested it in one of her posts.

With this tempeh recipe, the blogger mentions boiling the tempeh for 10 minutes to remove the 'bitterness', which I had never done before. Tempeh (like tofu) is an acquired taste but if properly prepared you can have a delicious high protein dish that will have even the most avid meat eaters...ahem...husband...asking for seconds.

sorry for the bad photo, but the taste of the tempeh makes up for it

I found this recipe on Vegan Yum Yum's blog who had linked to the recipe from l. a. kitchen's blog, so whoever was the original creator of this recipe, I apologize in advance if I did not reference you.

Sometimes, as a recipe makes it's way around the blogworld and others re-create it, they will use ingredients not mentioned in the original recipe, but rather whatever they happen to have on hand. This actually happened to me today, when I was preparing this. I did not realize I was out of apple cider vinegar and soy milk and fresh rosemary, so I used my own substitutes which seem to have made no difference in sacrificing taste at all.

Roasted Tempeh with Creamy Dijon Sauce

Marinade for the Tempeh:
1 lb. tempeh, cut into 4 portions ( I used a thin slab which is probably 1/2 lb)
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup wheat-free tamari
1/8 cup rice vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary ( I used 1 tbs dry)
3 garlic cloves, minced

NOTE: I found that the marinade for the tempeh yielded too much liquid. I only used a slab of tempeh as opposed to 1 lb., so if you make this, you might want to halve the amount of tamari and/or veggie stock unless you are using a lot of tempeh to begin with.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and drop in the tempeh. Cook for about 10 minutes. (Tempeh has a mildly bitter flavor that boiling will remove.)

Meanwhile, mix together the vegetable stock, tamari, rice vinegar, bay leaves, rosemary, and garlic.

Place the tempeh in a baking pan and pour the liquid mixture on top. Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes in a 350°F oven, turning once halfway through. Remove from the oven but leave the tempeh in the pan to soak up the remainder of the liquid while it cools to ensure moist tempeh.

After the liquid is absorbed (or pour it off if there is too much left), reheat in the oven until slightly browned on the edges, about 10 minutes or so.

For the Dijon Sauce:
1/2 cup grainy Dijon mustard
1/2 cup cider vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
1/4 cup soy milk ( I used almond milk)
2 Tbsp. maple syrup (I used 2 tsp)
2 Tbsp. honey (I used 2 tsp)

Mix together all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
Cook for 20 minutes, until slightly thickened, stirring frequently.

Serve the tempeh with your preferred choice of sides. I had my tempeh with baby potoatoes roasted in the oven with paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder and some slices of grilled fennel bulb with olive oil, salt, pepper and a few small dabs of Earth Balance vegan margarine.

The creamy dijon sauce was very delicious and tangy and the mustard flavour was not too overpowering considering I reduced the amount of honey and maple syrup. As for the the tempeh, the texture was firm (and less mushy) and I found, not as 'earthy' tasting after the boiling process. So, all in all, boiling tempeh might be a good thing to do if you dislike that mushroom-y flavour that tempeh naturally has. This was seriously a good dish and I will be making the creamy dijon sauce again to add to other faux-meats.