Chickpea Croquette? Hummus Fritter? Whatever. Delicious.

We got our new Vegetarian Times today and coupled with some mild food-blahs and no plans for lunch, we decided to get creative and try something new. Armed with some dry garbanzo beans, we happened to have nearly everything we needed for their recipe for Chickpea Croquettes with Greek Salad Topping (with some Zipper modifications). Given the challenge of making chickpea flour (see below), I actually halved the recipe-- but it gave us plenty for lunch for two.

the Greek Salad topping is very similar to our Arabic Salad (sans mint). Veg Times uses cherry tomatoes and low-fat vegan feta, which we omitted, and no parsley, which we added. :

1 cucumber diced

2 tomatoes diced

1/4 c. parsley chopped

2 green onions chopped

juice of 1 lemon

1 Tb. olive oil

Toss everything together and season with a little salt and black pepper

The Croquettes

1/2 c. chickpea flour (see below)

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Chickpea flour is basically made with dry chickpeas, your food processor, and a high tolerance for noisy grinding. It took me nearly 20 minutes to pulverize the beans and sift through a sieve what turns out to be about half a cup of very flour-like chickpeas, indeed. I had to work in small batches, and initially, the huge, hard beans made a TERRIBLE noise-- like gravel stuck in a blender. Just keep pulsing. Eventually it'll break down, and down some more, and if you're impatient like me, you'll take every opportunity to process, dump the crushed mixture out, sift it, dump it back into the processor and repeat. Once you have about 1/2 c., whisk or sift in the spices until well blended, then mix in about 1/3 c. hot water (to get the exact measurement, fill up a half cup measuring cup 3/4 of the way). Once you have a delightful smelling paste, add:

1/2 can of garbanzo beans

3 green onions chopped

1/4 c. tomato diced

1/4 c. parsley chopped

1 clove of garlic minced

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 Tb. olive oil

If it looks and smells like chunky hummus, you're on the right track! Spoon out 1/4 c. "croquettes" in a lightly oiled, heated non-stick pan,and lightly fry over medium heat 3-4 minutes on each side until golden.

BUT WAIT! There's More!

As we were prepping this, Zips started wondering what else might go with these-- so I whipped up a nice vegan tzatziki sauce with our homemade soy yogurt. We didn't have a ton of the right ingredients, but enough to figure something out. When I nail down this recipe, I'll be sure to feature it here, but this worked out just fine, and was a delicious addition:

Vegan Tzatziki Sauce

6 oz. plain soy yogurt

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 cucumber peeled and seeded

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 c. parsley

dash of salt

Whiz the garlic and the cucumber up in your food processor (If I had some, I would have added more cucumber, and maybe some fresh mint.). Strain the yogurt (I didn't and had a soupy, liquid sauce) and add it, along with everything else in your processor. You're done!

We ended up pouring the tzatziki sauce over the croquettes-- they were a great cool, creamy addition that prevented them from being too dry. Now I can't imagine eating them without the sauce.

Long Weekend Cookout & Lavender Blueberry Ice Cream

This was, of course, our last long weekend before autumn holiday season (halloween not withstanding). Since the weather is finally starting to ease up, not scorching the earth in every waking minute, we decided to have a cookout. We made a foil packet with red potatoes and diced new mexico green chile (it was actually Zipper's grandma-in-law-- notoriously new-food-phobic-picky-eater-- who thought up this one. Genius!), veggie hot dogs and burgers, a purple cabbage and apple slaw (yum!), and corn on the cob. We didn't have any buns in the house, so I thought I'd try my all-purpose shortcake recipe-- and simply bake it in the shape of a bun. Althought it turned out a bit dense, and even though everyone agreed it was a bit like cornbread, it sure worked well as a dog-conveyance-device:

But the real winner today comes from Cathe Olson's vegan ice cream recipe book, Lick It! I have kept some lavender buds that I bought in the bulk section of some co-op with my crafting supplies for quite a while--- great for making scented sachets as gifts. Zips was reminded of this when flipping through the cookbook for something special for today's dessert, and landed on the page for Lavender Blueberry Ice Cream. After ransacking my sewing boxes, craft baggies, and desk, I finally found my ziploc bag of purple-y goodness and the game was on.
It turned out such a lovely color. The darker pieces are actually blueberry skin (not lavender buds, those gets strained out). It's heavenly. We all agreed we'd like to take a bath in it. It's a little tart, mildly sweet, smooth and floral. You have to try it!

Lavender Blueberry Ice Cream

1/2 c. plain soy milk

2 Tb. lavender buds

2 c. blueberries

1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk

1/2 c. sugar or agave syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat the soy milk until it boils. Remove from heat, stir in the lavender buds, cover and steep for 20 min.

Strain the milk (now purple) into a blender jar. Add remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours (we poured it into a plastic quart container). Throw it in your ice cream maker and freeze away!

We served ours with a tofu 'whipped cream" topping from the same book (but it was just okay) and a sprig of mint. This has made Zips completely obsess over what else we can put lavender in to eat! Hopefully we'll try something soon. Happy Last Long Weekend!

Cookin' like it's Winter, part 1

Tried out a new recipe for dinner. I'm really surprised by how delicious this turned out. It didn't sound like something I'd love so much! Zips has recently learned of all the health benefits of sauerkraut (!). So she's been looking for something to make to encourage our eating of the stuff and found this recipe for us. Initially beer-braised seitan with sauerkraut didn't pique my curiosity, but in the spirit of trying new things, I flung myself into the endeavor. The result: absolutely delicious! Even though I had to substitute dark beer for what we had: corona light (I know, I know. Beer drinkers and foodies may cringe over this substitution. We're just not beer people. I may just go out and find something nice and dark to keep in the pantry for the next time I make this. Okay?)

in case you're too lazy to click the hyperlink:

Beer-Braised Seitan (or as Zips has discovered: Vegan Carbonnade a la Flamande)

1/4 c. olive oil (sounds like a lot, but it isn't)

1 onion (diced)

2 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 300.

Heat the oil and saute the onions with the brown sugar and salt for 10 minutes.

3 c. sauerkraut (this is 1 1/2 cans)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

black pepper

2 bay leaves

1 lb. seitan (diced) (I used 2 8 oz. packages of Trader Joe's Meatless Beef strips)

4 potatoes (diced in large chunks)

2 carrots cut into 1/2" rounds (I used 4. They were skinny)

12 oz. dark beer (or..er.. corona light)

After sauteing the onions, add the sauerkraut, garlic, black pepper, bay leaves, seitan, potato, carrot, and beer. Bring everything to a boil. Remove it from heat and throw it all into a casserole dish to bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until your veggies are tender.

As you can see, Zips approves. This will be even better when it's a little chilly out, and maybe we have some crusty french bread. and some dark beer.

Tofu Scramble, Homemade Pancakes and Blackberry Sauce from Scratch

I'll say it. I'm a zombie in the morning. Can't think. Can't wake up. Can barely open a can of cat food. And can barely figure out how to feed the kitties without dumping the can onto their little furry heads. Last semester we relied a lot on quiche (egg/feta/spinach and egg/broccoli/cheddar) to get us out the door with little thought or effort. Now that we've been moving away from eggs, and breakfasts involving mostly frying, it's been really exciting (and, yes, challenging) trying out new hearty breakfasts. That's what led us to breakfast quinoa. And has inspired the creation of my tofu scramble:

I really really despise tofu scrambles at most restaurants. Anything that "scrambles" tofu to the texture of mushy cottage cheese and then tries to "trick" you into thinking they're eggs by dying them yellow with turmeric *shudder*. From awful places we've eaten at (Annapurna's in ABQ) and beloved places (Flying Star), a good tofu scramble seems like the vegetarian holy grail. (Here's the key: it's NOT EGGS! It's not going to taste like eggs! So it doesn't have to look even remotely like eggs!) So I've taken matters into my own hands.

I happen to really like tofu. The way it tastes "raw," its texture, the way it sautes, the way it takes on flavors. So I dice up an onion and brown it in a little veggie butter, then add tofu that I've squeezed the moisture from, and break it apart with my fingers. I guess this is the "scrambling" part. I don't mush it up. I don't break it all down. I haven't tried whizzing it in a blender with some soy milk and mustard (as Post Punk Kitchen has you try). I just leave it in fork-worthy chunks and let it brown in the pan with the diced onion. The fun bit is adding sazon. This is the secret ingredient to my mom's fried rice recipe. We get the culantro con achiote flavor of sazon. This is what turns it orange and delicious. I use about half a packet. And a little black pepper. When it's all browned (and orange-ed) evenly, it's ready to go. I add some fresh cilantro (and maybe some green onion) at the end. and NO turmeric.

Okay, and the promised pancakes from scratch are the Perfect Pancakes from Vegan Brunch. They're delicious. Rich, flavorful. Hearty enough to carry a couple slices of bananas in the batter. (There's also a recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes. Zips is waiting until it's properly fall before we crack into those!) So we made 'em and drizzled maple syrup along with a Blackberry Sauce I Macguyvered in the moment. (Maple syrup is sweet and rich. Blackberry sauce is tart and rich. Knock yerself out!)

Blackberry Sauce (perfect for pancakes, ice cream, cheesecake, whatever!)


2 c. blackberries (I used ones I had frozen)
2 Tb. water
1 Tb. sugar
1/4 c. apple (peeled, diced finely)


Put everything in a pot together and bring to a simmer. Mash the apple against the side of the pan as it cooks. The apple works as a natural sweetener (less sugar added), and the fruit pectin in it helps thicken the sauce (no extra thickeners to add). Once everything has simmered and broken down, puree everything (I used my hand blender). Then strain out the wicked blackberry seeds so your loved ones won't walk around all day trying to get them out of their teeth.
Zips liked it all. Especially the maple syrup. Couldn't keep her face out of the pancakes!

More Beans n' Rice: Gallo Pinto

We plowed through the Lovely Lentils and Brown Rice, so there's not enough for our power lunch tomorrow. Having spent 2 weeks in Nicaragua long long ago, I have fond memories of my favorite part of nearly every meal, gallo pinto. Apparently also popular in Costa Rica, where it's made with black beans instead of red, gallo pinto is like the national dish (I guess Costa Ricans like it with a fried egg). And it's usually totally vegetarian, despite the fact that it's named after a chicken (it means speckled rooster-- because of how it looks). So tonight I made up a big batch of this and can't wait until I can eat it tomorrow!!!
Gallo Pinto

1 c. uncooked rice
1/2 c. onion minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 ts. cumin
1 ts. coriander
1/2 ts. ground ginger
Saute these together in 2 Tb. veg oil until the rice is translucent. Then add 2 c. water, cover, and simmer until rice is cooked.

At this point, I dumped the rice into a big bowl, heated 1 Tb. veg oil and sauteed some diced hot/sweet pepper
*among the recipes I found, this was a bit vague, so I ended up using 1/2 a serrano diced finely for heat and about 1/2 a green bell pepper for flavor)
then I dumped the rice back in and added 2 c. cooked black or red beans and 2 Tb. vegetarian worcestershire sauce (this approximates some kind of sauce that can only be found in Nicaragua or Costa Rica). Heat through and finish with 2 stalks of green onion finely chopped and 1/4 c. chopped cilantro.

I'm gonna garnish it with some sliced avocado. I can't wait.

Veg Broth from Scratch and Perfect Protein Lunches

Because school is back in, and Fall is my favorite season, and I am very fond of soup, Zips decided we ought to try our hand/paw at making our own veggie broth from scratch. I am delighted at how delicious and rewarding it was. We looked at many recipes online, and decided we were just going to take a whack at it and use whatever we had. So we chopped a whole onion, several carrots, some celery, 2 zucchini, a leftover sliver of cabbage, 3 or 4 parsnips, 3 mushrooms, a sweet potato, a couple of yukon gold potatoes, a couple spears of asparagus, and a bay leaf. Well, we heated these in a little olive oil at the beginning, and just piled in veggies as we chopped them up. Then we added about 16 cups of water. (That's right! Clear water!) and boiled it all for about 2 hours. I found some whole peppercorns and added them about an hour in.


Here it is at the beginning, and a little later once everything starts to jive a little:

After the first hour, it starts smelling maddeningly delicious. It is no longer water with veggies in it, but magical homemade elixer! It could probably have continued boiling, but I couldn't take the sweet torture for long. So I scooped out all the veggies after it cooled, and poured the broth into some freezable containers. We are thrilled! This has totally inspired me to make a vegetarian french onion soup from scratch. I can even make my own bread!
And in our continued search for perfect foods for our busy school days, we needed to concoct something for Thursday Lunches. Thursday is our killer day this semester, as we have to be on campus, essentially, from 11:30am to 8:30pm, (with a break between 1 and 3) We HAVE to bring us some vittles that will keep the candle burning. So I looked up a bean and rice dish, since they offer a complete protein. Now, lots of folks have a recipe for Lentil and Brown Rice Soup/ Stew/ Cassarole/ Salad. I don't know what I was looking for, so I kind of cobbled together several things that looked good to me. The result: delicious!

Lovely Lentils and Brown Rice:

1/2 onion. diced
1 clove garlic minced
2 Tb. olive oil
1 carrot finely diced
2 celery ribs finely diced
3/4 c. uncooked brown rice
3/4 c. dry lentils
3 c. veggie broth (even better if made from scratch!)
1/4 c. roasted pine nuts
2 Tb. fresh cilantro chopped
2 Tb. fresh mint chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
sprinkle of ground coriander and black pepper

Heat up the oil and add things in the order listed. Give the veggies and aromatics a little saute before adding the rice and lentils. After adding the lentils, thrown in the broth and bring to a simmer. Cover it and give it a stir once in a while until the liquid is absorbed (about 30-40min.) Stir in the pine nuts and the fresh herbs. Season to taste, and squeeze the lemon in at the end. Zips liked with a diced fresh tomato mixed in. I'm thinking I would like it with something like raisins or dried cranberry cooked in... I'll keep you posted.

Good for complete protein, good for fiber, and good for Zips.

Pesto Pizza and Oven Fried Green Tomatoes (but not together)

Today's big adventure was some homemade pizza made with some pizza dough from Trader Joe's. (I've never bought a plastic bag of dough that I can stretch out and toss up in the air. How fun!) I know it's practically un-american for me to be a little ambivalent about pizza. I'm just not a rabid fan. As a teenager, my parents always encouraged me to have pizza parties (feed friends cheap), but I was not and still am not that excited about pizza.

But PESTO pizza is a whole other story! The short version: I made a pizza for everyone in the family. Green chiles, bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, and less cheese on one. No mushrooms and more cheese on another. And green chiles, onion, bell pepper, and tomato on my homemade pesto version. *drool* I can't WAIT to make pizza again!

I know all the components of Pesto, but didn't measure anything out, so here's my guess-timated recipe:

I Love PESTO

2 cloves garlic
1 packed c. basil (washed)
1/4 c. pine nuts
1 Tb. olive oil
1/4 c. parmesan cheese (I didn't have the fancy grated kind, so I used the kind that comes in a green plastic can from Target. It worked just fine)

I just put everything into my mini-food processor that I've had since undergrad and whizzed away. I processed everything in the order listed. Once I put some olive oil in, everything incorporated really well.

Now that school has started again, we're trying to prep a lot of our meals so everything is a healthy, hearty no-brainer when we get up... when we get home... when we get munchie. (While my goal is for these to be healthy, it is absolutely essential they be no-brainers, since I'm a complete zombie when I wake up and also when I get tired!) This weekend we're excited to pretend summer isn't over yet, so we made the pizzas, tonight I'm making soy yogurt for next week's breakfast smoothies. And we're going to try making veggie broth from scratch. Zips just discovered the blog Vegan Yum Yum who has a link to this Fat Free Vegan blog ("sinlessly delicious" I love it), both of which I have bookmarked. So we're going to try Yum Yum's vegetable broth. I'll post more when we have more to show for it.

AND I'm so excited to try baked green tomatoes! I'm thrilled. And perhaps tomorrow, after we go to the local grower's market, we'll have some green tomatoes to bread and bake. Zips is over my shoulder finding recipes for vegan quiche, tempeh potato breakfast patties, vegan paella, seitan stir fry, chickpea spinach soup... we already have designs to make a blackened cajun chik'n dinner tomorrow. SO I have a feeling I'll be posting again real soon.