30-Minute Vegan Dahl (Dhal/Dal/Daal)

    There comes a time when you realize that you've been using a recipe religiously for years.....but have yet to share it with all your friends. So greedy, right? Well, thanks to my friend Nicole who asked for my Dahl recipe the other night, I've taken the recipe off my fridge to share it with all of you wonderful people!

     I guess part of the reason it has taken me so long to publish this recipe, is that Dahl really isn't the prettiest of dishes. A delicious ladle-full of yellow slop anyone? But served with rice, chapati or naan and perhaps some other dishes like aloo gobi or a vegetable curry and you can have a pretty darn tasty meal.

     Dahl is a thick stew made of split pulses, typically split red lentils, that originates from South Asia. Variations of this dish can be found throughout India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. This version, being vegan, omits some traditional aspects, like Ghee, a type of clarified butter commonly used in India. But rest assured, this recipe is still just as delicious!

Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 x 1 cup portions (as a main) or 8 x 1/2 cup servings (as a side)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive or canola oil
• pinch of red chili flakes
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (can put through the food processor)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger (about a 1/2" knob)
• 1 tsp turmeric 
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp salt (reduce if using tomato juice, as appropriate)
• 2 cups dried red lentils 
• 4 cups water (or part tomato juice)
• Juice of half of a lemon, to finish (optional)

Preparation

1. In a medium pot, heat oil with chili flakes and cumin seeds over medium heat. When warm and fragrant, add onion. Sauté for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger.
2. Sauté for 3 additional minutes, meanwhile, rinse red lentils under cold water. Add spices and salt to the pot. Then stir in the lentils. One the lentils are coated with oil and spices, add water (or tomato juice) and stir. 
3. Cover and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, uncover and reduce heat, and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until lentils are cooked and the majority of the water is absorbed (will continue to thicken as the dahl cools).
4. Remove from heat and stir in lemon.
5. Serve with rice or naan

The Perfect Fall Soup: Celeriac, Leek and Potato Soup

     Oh so creamy, without an ounce of cream! Can you believe it? Well I can!

     This recipes features one of the so called 'monsters' of the garden -- Celeriac. Celeriac is gnarly looking root vegetable that can get to about the size of your head. Typically this veg is harvested late in the fall, after the first soft frost, but before a hard frost (just in case you feel like growing some yourself next year!). Celeriac is a really cool root, also known as celery root, it has the texture of a potato but tastes like the most delicious celery imaginable! We cut one up raw on the rooftop garden the other day, and it was amazing! So don't let the crazy appearance dissuade you from picking a celeriac up from your local market or grocer.

     I've been waiting to cook up this soup all season! Ever since I saw the roots sticking out from under what I originally mistook as celery. Through in some Rye's HomeGrown leeks, garlic and my last couple potatoes, and we have the makings for a delicious soup. The hardest part of making this soup is cutting up the celeriac, once that's done, it's smooth sailing. Spice up this soup a bit with some pesto or an herb oil.

Serves: 8

Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 celeriac, peeled and cubed
• 2 large (4 small) leeks, white and light green only, roughly chopped 
• 2 large white or russet potatoes, peeled and chopped 
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• Black pepper and salt to taste 

Preparation

1. In a large, thick bottomed soup pot, heat oil on medium heat with the bay leaf.
2. Add celeriac, leek, potato and garlic. Let sweat for about 10 minutes.
3. Add vegetable broth. Cover, increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until celeriac is tender.
4. Let cool for 20-30 minutes. Remove bay leaf, and blend soup in blender (may need to to blend in batches). If I have to blend in batches, and I know that there is going to be left overs, I usually put the first batch into Tupperware containers for tomorrow night's dinner.
5. After blended, return the soup to the pot, and warm over medium heat, for about 20 minutes, or until warm.
6. Serve will a dollop of pesto or a couple drops of an herb oil.

Seitan "Beef" and Broccoli Stir-fry

     When I was growing up, I used to love beef and broccoli! I have been dreaming up a vegan alternative for years now. I've tried it with tofu, but it's just not the same. After recently starting to experiment with seitan, I've developed a tasty dish that does a pretty good job of mimicking beef.

     Ryan has always had this perception that seitan is this crazy time consuming and an impossible process. Now if this is your perception of seitan, forget about it! It really isn't as hard as some recipes make it seem. Yes it takes more time than tofu, but the options are endless! I'll keep on experimenting and see what other creations I make up!

Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 5-6

Ingredients

      Seitan "Beef"

• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp (7 mL) vegan Worcestershire sauce (if unavailable, substitute with more soy)
• 1 Tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce (optional)
• 1/2 Tbsp (7 mL) peanut or canola oil
• 1 1/8 cup (190 g) vital wheat gluten
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) nutritional yeast
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Tbsp (7 mL) Chinese 5-spice powder

• 6 cups (1.5 L) broccoli fleurettes, about 3 large heads
• 1-2 Tbsp peanut oil

      Sauce

• 3 Tbsp (45 mL) vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 tsp (5 mL) rice wine vinegar or dry sherry
• 1 tsp (5 mL) sesame oil
• 3 Tbsp (45 mL) soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

Preparation

1. Start out by making the seitan "beef": Mix together broth, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Worcestershire, and oil in a large measuring cup. In a medium bowl, mix gluten, nutritional yeast, flour and Chinese 5-spice powder. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until all dry ingredients are absorbed and the dough forms a rough ball. On a clean surface, knead the dough for about 3 minutes, then form the dough into a uniform ball, and let rest for 10 minutes. 
2. Prepare a steamer basket in a large pot with a couple inches of boiling water. 
3. Divide seitan dough into 4 equal wedges. Stretch until dough is roughly 3/4" thick . Wrap each piece of seitan loosely in tinfoil (you'll want room so that the seitan can expand).
4. Place packages of seitan in the steamer basket, cover and steam for 30 minutes. Check back periodically to make sure all the water hasn't evaporated.
5. Wash and trim broccoli. Cut into fleurettes. If using the stems (I don't like wasting, either), cut into matchstick-like pieces, approximately 2 inches long.
6. In the last 3 minutes of your seitan steaming, toss in the broccoli to par-cook.
7. Remove from heat, and cool broccoli and seitan"beef" stakes.
8. Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce.
9. In a wok or large frying pan on medium heat, warm the peanut oil.
10. Slice beef into long thin strips. Sear seitan on both sides. Add broccoli and sauce. and heat until sauce is thick and the broccoli is tender.
11. Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Have you experimented with seitan? What have you made? Let me know what crazy things you've made by commenting below!

Tofu Scramble

      Sometimes I surprise myself. Like last weekend when I went to find my tofu scramble recipe on my blog and realized it didn't exist. Well that is just unacceptable. I've been using this recipe, and variations of it, for years now. It's a brunch staple in our house and a great way to get your protein first thing in the morning.

     Paired with some toast and a couple slices of tomato, or over a bed of quinoa with some avocado, this recipe is sure to please. 

If you're like me, and enjoy eating breakfast for dinner, this is a great option! Add a teaspoon of curry powder and a pinch of cayenne and you're on your way to a quick and delicious dinner. 

Serves: 2-3 3/4 cup servings (one serving of protein)

Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp olive or canola oil
• Pinch of chili flakes (optional)
• One small onion or 3 green onions, diced (about 1/2 cup/125mL)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 1/4 tsp coriander 
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 package firm tofu, 350-450g, rinsed and patted dry
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 cup of greens (spinach, Swiss chard, beet tops, arugula, cabbage....), ribboned
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Preparation

1. Heat oil with optional chili flakes in a pan over medium heat.
2. Sauté onions until translucent (about 5 minutes), then add garlic and spices. Sautee for one minute or until fragrant.
3. With clean hands, crumble tofu into the pan and stir to coat tofu with seasoning.
4. Drizzle soy sauce on tofu and stir. 
5. Let sauté until most of the liquid in the pan from the tofu has cooked off, 7-15 minutes depending on the tofu' sweater content.
6. Add the greens and cover. Let cook for 5 minutes.
7. Stir in nutritional yeast and taste for seasoning. 
8. Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

Vegan Pumpkin-Beer Bread

     These past few days have been feeling very fall-like. Between classes back in session and the cool autumn breeze, and even the release of Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks (not that it's vegan appropriate) I figured I should re-post one of my favourite fall recipes. This Vegan Pumpkin-Beer Bread is one of my all-time favourite fall recipes.

     We made this last night and were very satisfied, once again. This bread is moist but hearty. If you made my chocolate zucchini bread last post, this bread is definitely more of a bread than a cake, I promise this time. This pumpkin bread is just subtlety sweet with pumpkin-pie like aromatics. It makes for a perfect breakfast or a snack for school or work.

     This recipe was inspired my a recipe on Slate. It's not vegan but you can check it out here

Serves: One 9-inch loaf, serves 12

Ingredients

• vegan margarine for greasing the pan
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour,can use a mixture of white and whole-wheat
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin pie spice OR
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch ground nutmeg (optional)
• Pinch ground Asian 5-spice (or allspice)
• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 1 cup pumpkin purée (a third of a can)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin ale, I suggest "St-Ambroise Pumpkin Ale"; alternatively, use mulled apple cider

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. With margarine, grease a 9" loaf pan. Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a medium sauce pan over low heat melt margarine. Stir in the pumpkin and brown sugar until smooth. Pour the pumpkin ale or cider into the sauce pan and mix until smooth. 
3. Add the wet pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until combined, then transfer the batter to the greased loaf pan.
4. Bake at 400°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you can smell the bread from the living room, it's probably done! Otherwise, bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the loaf pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Leftovers should be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days, although I've never seen it last that long....its normally finished in 3 days.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

       Zucchini is trending right now. Or at least we're pulling it from the garden in bushels full. Now as much as we try and harvest the zucchini's regularly so they don't grow to the size of a small child, there are always a few that you miss. Now when you have an irregularly large zucchini, there are a couple things you can do with in:

1. Let it keep growing! and keep it for seeds. That is of course if it's the only squash you are growing (wouldn't want any cross pollination of summer squashes)
2. Make some zucchini pizza (but you might want to remove some of the seeds)
3. Make Zucchini Bread, my favourite version is a super moist chocolaty recipe that you can hardly call bread.

       There has been a bit of controversy over the title of this recipe. Now I am a firm believer that this is zucchini bread, a little sweeter than the traditional zucchini bread , but zucchini bread never the less. My coworkers unanimously decided that it was closer to a brownie (have the ever had a brownie?!). And then I get a 7am text from Ryan exclaiming that "It's cake! Best breakfast ever!" So we haven't really come to a firm agreement on what exactly the chocolate zucchini dessert/breakfast/snack is but nevertheless, it's delicious!

Serves: 2 loaf pans

Time: 30 minutes + 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp (or 1/2 Tbsp) baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 500g (about 3 cups) grated raw zucchini

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. 
2. In a food processor equipped with the grater or using a medium grater, grate a large zucchini.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients, including flour,cocoa powder, leavening agents, salt. Stir in chocolate chips if using.
4. In another large bowl, mash banana, and whisk in oil. Cream oil and banana mixture with brown and white sugar and vanilla. 
5. Add the zucchini to the wet mixture and mix well.
6. Mix the wet and dry mixtures together, stirring just until combined. 
7. Scrape the batter into two 9x5x3 loaf pans (I don't usually grease them, but mine are well seasoned). Bake in a 350°F/175°C oven until the bread has risen and a toothpick/chopstick comes out clean, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
8. Remove from the oven and place loaf pans on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pans and letting cool completely. 

Zucchini Pizza

       This is one of my all-time favourite pizzas. It’s a classic in our house and is a great way to use all those zucchinis. It you grow zucchinis at home, you know what I mean. Once they start, you’re eating zucchini 24/7.

        This type of zucchini pizza is rift off of a traditional Italian pizza, but you know, veganized. We add sesame seeds and bread crumbs for a little bit of crunch to an otherwise deliciously soft zucchini filling.

Look at all those zucchinis Rye's HomeGrown is selling at the market!

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 1/3 pizza dough recipe, rested
• 1 medium-large zucchini (large in grocery store varieties, otherwise medium from the garden)
• Scant ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup vegan shredded cheese, such as Daiya
• 3 green onions, chopped thinly
• ¼ cup fresh basil, sliced into ribbons
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced paper thin or minced
• Fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 2-3 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/8 cup bread crumbs

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 550°F, with the pizza stone positioned on the center rack. If not using a pizza stone, see my recipe for the pizza dough recipe for how to prepare this recipe using a metal baking tray.
2. Use a food processor with a grater attachment or a box grater to grate the zucchini (large grate).
3. Toss grated zucchini in a bowl with salt. I know it seems like a lot of salt, but most of it will be lost in the liquid! Let stand for approximately 20 minutes, until the zucchini has released a good amount of water.
4. Transfer zucchini to a colander. Discard any remaining liquid. In small batches, squeeze out the zucchini and then transfer back to the bowl.
5. Loosen up the zucchini with a fork. Mix in cheese, green onion, basil, dried oregano, garlic and black pepper. Taste and season if needed.
6. On a floured surface, stretch out the dough and transfer to a floured pizza peel with cornmeal.
7. Depending on how wet your dough is, you can choose to make the pizza on the pizza peel or directly on the pizza stone. We make ours on the pizza stone after we had to turn our pizza into an extra-large calzone one too many times. But it’s up to you! Either way, you want to slowly slide the pizza/dough onto the stone.
8. Bake at 550°F for approximately 10 minutes, then switch to broil and broil for 2 additional minutes. These times are based off of an electric oven, if using gas, less time will be needed, so adjust accordingly.
9. When the crust and the bread crumbs are golden brown, remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack or cutting board. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.