vegan – Page 6 – morestomach

overnight steel cut oats

Published on March 2, 2015March 1, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach4 Comments

at the time of this post writing
it’s the first day of march
it’s also snowing
actually, i can hear the snow hitting the roof
so it’s sleeting
or, the sky is shitting
winter storm advisories are the norm
i’m contemplating yet another soup/stew to make for lunch
and i’m making plans for another week
of oat breakfasts

overnight steel cut oats
serves 2-3, depending on how hungry you are

note: i make this every night, there are recipes out there where you can make a week’s worth of oats but i’d rather make it fresh every night before bed. it’s so quick and easy, and we can re-use the containers/bowls, rather than having week’s a worth of dishes for two to contend with.

2 cups water
1/2 cup steel cut oats
generous pinch of salt
optional: 1/3 cup raisins. i find that adding them after the oats have cooked is OK but i like the plumpness the raisins take on when they’ve soaked overnight

night before:
in saucepan bring water to a boil
add in oats and salt and let boil for a minute. if it boils rapidly, stir and move around burner, but keep for a minute
remove from heat, lid and go to bed

morning of:
reheat the oats on low (i usually do this step while packing lunch or making coffee)
stir to fluff up the oats

if eating right away:
portion into bowls and top with whatever you want
we’ve topped with fresh fruit (in pics, we used frozen blueberries from over the summer, pomegranate seeds and kefir milk), raisins and brown sugar. for crunch we have added slivered almonds

if transporting to work/elsewhere
portion into to-go containers
in separate containers add your toppings
when at work, the oats may still have some warmth (it’s usually at the perfect for me) but you can reheat in microwave, and top according to preference

BAM!

roasted banana bread

Published on February 23, 2015June 14, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach20 Comments

we’re back to feeling human again.
well, almost human.
i’m not quite 100%
but we’ll get there.

lately it’s been a fallback
on all things comfort
the comfort foods of my childhood
soups
dw’s old high school sweatshirt
tom selleck on netflix
and this bread.
it’s a little pedestrian,
banana bread,
and that’s what i needed,
something familiar
with ingredients already on hand.
the roasting is optional
but it perfumes the whole abode
beautifully,
and when sick,
i’m not in the habit of
denying myself such comfort.

Roasted Banana Bread
loosely adapted from terri wu

*note: i’ve been making this bread for a few years now, i cheat and use other recipes but i find myself falling back to this one. like all sweet breads this is flexible, you can add nuts or dried fruit, chocolate chips, whatever is available in your pantry. i like that. also, the liquid can be anything – water, coffee and admittedly, this past week i forgot to brew fresh and just added water to my already used up coffee grounds. obviously, the most flavorable loaf was the one with the super strong brewed coffee but you won’t die if you use weak coffee or just plain water.
**note: you don’t have to roast the bananas, especially if they’re super ripe. i just like the flavor it imparts, and it makes to mashing them up so nicely. this recipe doesn’t use eggs so i’m not worried about cooking the eggs in the batter before they even make it to the oven. should you decide to roast your bananas for your go-to banana bread recipe that uses eggs, be sure to cool them sufficiently before adding to the batter.

1/4 cup flaxseeds
1/4 cup + 2 TBL hot coffee (or hot water)
1/2 cup apple sauce (or neutral oil, like grapeseed or sunflower)
1 2/3 cups einkorn flour (or AP)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 large ripe bananas
2 TBL vegan mayonnaise (or vegan yogurt)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBL brown sugar
dash of cinnamon
1/2 cup cranberries, optional

preheat oven to 350F.

in a oven safe pan, or pie pan, lay the bananas down. sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over top. optional: slice the bananas length-wise first. the flavor difference is negligible. put in oven as it heats up. you’re aiming for anywhere from 15-30 minutes, however long it takes for the oven to warm up fully and/or do up the batter.

in grinder, grind up the flaxseed. add to hot coffee (or water). mix, and ignore, 15 minutes.

in a mixing bowl add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and ground cinnamon.

in the flaxseed container add the sugar and apple sauce (or oil). mix it up. fold this mixture into the flour mixing bowl until few dry streaks remain.

remove pie pan of banana goodness from the oven. use your best judgement: there have been times when it got quite mushy & liquidy and it strained it, and other times the moisture level wasn’t alarming. it’s up to you. to the pie pan add the vegan mayo (or yogurt), along with the salt, and stir to mix through. fold the mixture into the mixing bowl. add in the cranberries if using, combine completely.

transfer batter to greased loaf pan.

bake for 1 hour.

allow to cool completely in pan, invert onto wire rack.

to serve, i like to slice 1 thick piece and toast it, until the edges are nice and crunchy and dark.

BAM!

update:
my blog friend dixya made some banana bread today too, though hers is more like a bananas foster! her recipe.

brinjal pickle hummus

Published on February 2, 2015February 3, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach20 Comments

things i don’t like right now:
the cold
my hair length, it’s that in-between thing
doing dishes
bad internet connection
coffee creamer saying it’s non-dairy
but closer look at the ingredients list lists milk.
WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!
the ravens not making the superbowl

things i like right now:
not having cable
watching mpt/pbs/bbc
burt’s bee’s skincare line
blooming cyclamens
this taytay mashup
smothering my superbowl disappointment with ~~dip~~ two dips
one dip is usually fine,
but two makes it all the more bearable

brinjal pickle hummus – vegan & gluten free
brinjal pickle adapted from the Splendid Table
basic hummus adapted from Ottenlenghi’s Jerusalem, click on link for full ingredients or purchase the book for instructions. Or, use your own fave hummus recipe, but for the love of gawd, don’t add olive oil!

note about the brinjal: original recipe calls to store in jars in dark corner and ignore for a month before consuming. that’s not happening, we’ll likely finish this batch in a week. it also says can be ignored, unopened for MONTHS and once opened can be kept in fridge for at least 2-3 months. we might test that. in the meantime, we’ll add it to our hummus or eat as a side along with rice.

brinjal pickle:
2 lbs indian eggplants, trimmed & cubed
2 TBL salt
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp brown mustard seeds
2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2″ knob of fresh ginger, minced
2 red peppers, seeded and diced
1 generous TBL tamarind paste
1 cup vinegar
5 generous TBL light brown sugar

place cubed eggplant into colander in sink and sprinkle with salt. ignore for an hour as the eggplants supposedly releases its bitter juices.

toast cumin, coriander, fenugreek, and fennel seeds in dry frying pan. when warmed through and fragrant, grind in mortar & pestle (or as dw would’ve preferred, in a spice grinder). when finely ground, add in the cinnamon stick, ground tumeric and mustard seed, ignore until needed.

rinse eggplant and pat dry. or like me, ignore for awhile until sufficiently dry.

in batches (i did it in two) fry up eggplant cubes in oil, add more oil as needed. brown and soften.

when done, remove eggplant and set aside. heat remaining oil and saute onion, garlic, ginger and red pepper over medium high heat, until soft. add in ground spices, mix through, then add in the tamarind paste and brown sugar. finally put the eggplant back into pan and mix it thoroughly. last, pour the vinegar over the mixture and simmer gently for 30 minutes, or until very tender. some pieces will be mush, don’t be alarmed.

taste for seasoning. cool completely before storing in clean jars.

to assemble the dip, take the hummus out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes, to soften.

in a food processor ladle two generous scoops of the brinjal pickle and pulse. i like a chunky texture but i wanted to break down the brinjal a little.

the point is to add these two dips together. dw likes it all mixed together, i like some division, it’s up to you. serve with pita chips, veg sticks, or as a spread.

BAM!

other dippy dips and appetizers:
za’atar socca + middle eastern smashed avocado – vegan & gluten free
mango pomegranate guacamole – vegan & gluten free
homemade lactose free ricotta cheese
green tomato & mint chutney – vegan and gluten free
roasted bone marrow

lentil tacos – vegan

Published on January 12, 2015February 5, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach20 Comments

we haven’t been to the market
in weeks.
grabbing toilet paper
that one time
last week doesn’t count.
dw & i discussed a pantry purge,
cooking with what we had
left on the shelves
in the fridge
in the freezer.
in part to save money,
but mainly to see if we can.
in many ways it’s limiting —
dried beans, rice, and spices
can get you so far.
but there’s a challenge in there —
making dried beans, rice and spices
taste good can stretch one’s creativity.

while planning for market day
to replenish the pantry,
to focus on a proper meal plan
we face yet another dynamic to our situation:
the challenge AND excitement
of re-stocking
the shelves
the fridge
the freezer.
it’s a nice problem to have, yes?

edit to add: maria of some infinite thing made these
for lunch, perfect!

lentil tacos
makes a week’s worth of dinner aka serves two for 5 nights

*note: this is something that we’ve made for a number of years, especially during the height of summer csa vegs. toppings and add ins are interchangeable. we’ve had it with soft and hard tacos, we’ve had it with and without cheese, it’s whatever is available that season, or in our case, in our pantry!
**note: the taco seasoning is based off of alton brown’s #19 taco potion that we quadruple and keep in a jar.

homemade taco seasoning:
1 TBL ground chipotle peppers
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt

lentils:
1 cup dried lentils, soaked overnight
half onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 carrots, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced (this is hit or miss, depending if in season)
2 TBL olive oil
water
2-3 TBL of taco seasoning, recipe above

add ins etc:
tortilla wraps or taco shells
arugula or shredded cabbage
shredded cheese (sometimes we use daiya vegan cheese if we’re feeling fancy)
avocado, diced or sliced
salsa
pickled vegs (once we added pickled turnips and it was DIVINE)
sliced peppers
limes
cilantro

to make the taco seasoning, just add all the ingredients in a jar and shake. will keep for about a month, though truth be told, longer.

when ready to prepare meal, discard the water the lentils were soaked in and rinse.

in a big pan or pot, heat up some olive oil. when sufficiently warmed, add in the onions and garlic. allow the onions to get translucent. add in the carrots and red bell peppers and stir to evenly mix and coat. last add in the lentils and again, mix it around to coat everything in oil.

per your taste buds and preference, add in the taco seasoning. sometimes i do more, sometimes i do less (it’s less when we’re finishing the jar). mix through. add in enough water to just barely cover the lentils.

keep heat at medium low and allow to gently simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally. check on the softness of the lentils, if it’s still got bite, add more water and cook for longer. my cook time varies anywhere from 30 minutes – 45 minutes, i just check every 5 minutes. also check taste, there is salt in the taco seasoning but you may want to add more to your preference.

it’s done when the liquid has been absorbed and the lentils and carrots are soft.

serve on tortilla wraps or in taco shells and top to your heart’s content.

BAM!