Vegan Mofo Day 7 Colour - Italian Inspired Beans

Today's vegan mofo prompt is Colour!
I made this basic dish sometime ago and as I made it I mixed a variety of herbs wondering if they would work out well together...... I'm pleased to report that they did and I love this combo now. However I tricked myself by the 'colours' of this dish because I was thinking it would taste of Italian herbs..... but it didn't exactly have that traditional italian flavour..... it was just the colours that were Italian inspired to match their flag!!!

So it seemed appropriate to post this simple recipe for today's colour theme! 

ITALIAN-COLOUR INSPIRED BEANS

(Makes 4 servings)

                   You'll need:
                           1 can butter beans*
                           1 can red kidney beans*
                           2 zucchinis
                           1 onion
                           1 garlic clove
                           1/2 cup tomato passata
                           1/2 teaspoon each: 
                           cumin, oregano, turmeric, dried onion flakes, paprika

Drain the butter beans and kidney beans and set them aside. 

Chop the onion into pieces and dry fry in a pan with the crushed garlic until beginning to brown. Stir in all the herbs and a few spoons of water and saute until fragant. Add the chopped zucchini and place a lid over the pan to allow to steam the zucchini for approx 5 mins until tender. Stir through the drained beans and passata and stir frequently until dish is completely warmed through.

Recommended to be served with a wholegrain and a side of leafy greens :-)

* Always choose salt free and BPA free varieties when you can.

Mung Bean Curry

I love a curry, and I also love mung beans. So why not put the 2 together!
This meal takes a bit of time to prep with all the chopping, and also to cook the beans, but it's not difficult so don't let that deter you!
If you want to shorten the cooking time, you can pre-soak the mung beans for a minimum of 6 hours & reduce the cooking time by about half. You will only need about 1 litre of stock then too.
I love that mung beans don't NEED to be presoaked, and I don't mind the cooking time because this curry has the most enticing aroma as it simmers away on the stove! 

MUNG BEAN CURRY
(Serves 4)

 
               You'll need:
               250g dried mung beans - rinsed
               1 large brown onion
               1 zucchini
               2 celery stalks
               1 large carrot
               1/2 head cauliflower
               200g green beans
               2 garlic cloves, crushed
               1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
               1 Tablespoon turmeric powder
               1 heaped teaspoon each: cumin, coriander
               1/2 teaspoon cardamon
               1 long green chili
               100g baby spinach leaves
               1.5 litres salt free veggie stock

In a large saucepan or pot that has a lid, put the mung beans. Add 1 litre of the stock, cover, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. While the mung beans are cooking, chop all the veggies into bite sized pieces.
Add the veggies (except for the spinach) to the pot, along with all the spices and the remainder of the stock. Return the lid to the pot and again bring to the boil then simmer. Allow to simmer for approx 15 mins or until the stock is absorbed and the veggies are tender.
Stir through the spinach leaves until lightly wilted, then serve. 

Lentil & 3 C's Stew

Here's a nice easy meal that is great in winter because it's so warm and soothing and full of veggies. It is great by itself, but also pairs well with brown rice or couscous or baked potatoes or even freshly baked bread.
We make it in a pressure cooker, as it's super quick & easy. We have the ability to saute first in our pressure cooker which is a feature I love, as I really prefer the taste of sauteed onions over just having them cooked in the stew without being sauteed first. However, if you don't have a pressure cooker you can make it over a stove top -  it will just take longer and may require more water.
This has become a favourite in our home, especially at the end of the week when we have quite a few bits and pieces of veggies leftover and want to use them all up before we buy our fresh lot for the next week. My husband refers to this meal as "pressure cooker lentils" - just stating things like they are ;-)
It works with any different herbs you wish to use, depending on what flavours you'd like to add to your stew. We also occasionally use a drop of liquid smoke which adds a lovely depth to the stew. The options are truly endless. :-) 

LENTIL & 3 C's STEW

(Makes 6-8 servings)

You'll need:
2 cups dried green lentils
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1/4 head cabbage 
2 carrots

2 stalks celery
1 zucchini
1/2 bunch silverbeet 
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 Tablespoon lemon juice 
1 litre veggie stock
1/2 litre water
1 teaspoon fresh rosemany

Chop all the veggies. 
Saute the onion and garlic. Add the remaining veggies to either a pressure cooker or stove top. 
If using a pressure cooker, add remaining ingredients and cook under pressure for 18 minutes. Release steam and serve. (You can use baby spinach in place of the silverbeet, add after steam has been released and stir through until wilted.)
For stove top, add the stock, water and lemon juice and cook for 30-35 minutes until lentils are cooked through and veggies are tender, adding more liquid if required. Then stir through the nutritional yeast, tomato paste, and rosemary.

Question of the day:
Do you have a winter comfort food? If so, what is it?

Broccoli Bolognese

The inspiration for this recipe came when out for dinner in an Italian restaurant one time my husband was eating his veggie spaghetti and I looked over and couldn't get over how much the head of the broccoli sitting there looked like ground mince! I wondered if I could turn broccoli into bolognese!
I am pleased to say that yes, indeed it really does work out, and it strangely does look similar to mince bolognese! Add some familiar flavours and you'll definitely have a very satisfying bolognese even without mince! We love this meal & have it frequently - especially when broccoli is $1.99/kg!

BROCCOLI BOLOGNESE

Serves 6

You'll need:
2 medium onions
4 garlic cloves
1 kg broccoli
1 teaspoon "beef" style stock powder (I use Massel)
1 Tablespoon mixed Italian herbs
700g jar tomato passata
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Optional to serve:
Nutritional yeast
basil leaves

Chop the onion and crush the garlic.
Dry fry together on a heated frying pan. Sprinkle over the stock powder. Cook until onion is translucent. 
Chop the broccoli as finely as possible, creating little crumbs with the broccoli head. You can add the stems if you would like to, or omit them.
Add the broccoli to the pan along with 1(ish) cup of water and cook until the broccoli is tender and most of the water is absorbed.
Stir through the passata and herbs. Tear the basil leaves and add them too. 
Bring the heat down to low and continue to cook - stirring frequently until the passata is warmed through.
Serve over pasta or potatoes, and with nutritional yeast and extra basil leaves if desired. 

Submitted for Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Add your recipe at:
Rock My Vegan Socks 
Vegan Dollhouse

In My Kitchen November: Polenta Crusted Adzuki bean & Vegetable Loaf

This month In My Kitchen I'm sharing a few newish gadgets that bring me much delight, and a recipe I've created using them. 

Let me introduce to you my new Tupperware gadget - 

Extra Chef

I debated long & hard about if I should get one of these as they are a little pricey. In the end, I have decided it has been so so worth the money! It is incredibly versatile, works just as well as my electric food processor and yet runs just on my arm strength!!!! ;-) Gotta love anything that is environmentally friendly and helps with jiggly arm syndrome!
It has a great capacity, but at the same time doesn't take up much cupboard space (considerable less space than a traditional food processor). It is incredibly easy to clean and all the attachments store inside the compartment itself.
I use it for so many things, but it especially comes in handy for when I want to add vegetables to dishes where I don't want them to be chunky.

Let me also introduce to you my new electrical gadget - 

Digital Pressure cooker

I never had much luck with the stove top pressure cooker that I had - so I offloaded it and waited for a good special on an electric one. I was over the moon when Target had a massive homewares clearance and this was less than half price. I quickly informed my husband that it was to be part of my birthday present! Thankfully, he took the hint!!!!

I am REALLY REALLY happy with it's pressure cooking ability. Not only for making legumes from dried instead of relying on canned ones, but also for making soups, stews, as well as cooking rice and other grains.
I LOVE the saute function, as it means I can toss in my onions and garlic and saute them in the same pot before adding other ingredients, saying on washing up. 
The non-stick coating is fantastic meaning I can saute without using oil, and also the insert goes into the dishwasher - a MUST for all our cooking gadgets as I hate washing up!!!!
It is *meant* to be multi-function meaning it can slow cook also, however after several trys with the slow cook feature on maximum length I have been disappointed to find the meal virtually uncooked. So, alas I haven't as yet been able to offload my other slow cooker as I was hoping to with a multi-purpose machine. Though, I find that with this machine I have no real use for a slow cooker as I can pop this on anytime and the keep warm function works amazing. Also everything that I previously would of done in the slow cooker has worked fantastically well being pressure cooked.


And now let me show you a recipe I made using both of these new gadgets:

POLENTA CRUSTED ADZUKI BEAN 
AND VEGETABLE LOAF 

Loaf:
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 carrot
1/2 head broccoli
2 celery stalks
1/2 capsicum
2 cups cooked adzuki beans
1 teaspoon each: dried oregano, cumin, turmeric, paprika
1/2 cup tomato paste
Topping:
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/3 cup polenta
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (regular breadcrumbs work fine however I particularly like the added crispiness that panko crumbs provide)


Place all the vegetables roughly chopped into a chopper, or food processor.

Process until all ingredients are finely chopped. (You can do this by hand if you would rather, for the best outcome you need all ingredients very finely chopped.)

In a large bowl, lightly mash the adzuki beans (I used the back of a spoon, depending on how soft your beans are you may need a proper masher) and stir in all the herbs and the tomato paste. 

Add the vegetables to the bowl and stir until well combined.
Press the mixture into a large baking dish (I used a 30cm x 20cm). Press down well.

In a smaller bowl combine the ingredients for the topping/crust. Press the crust over the bean mixture and gently press down. (For a gluten free version replace the breadcrumbs with more polenta.)

Bake in a preheated oven for 35-40minutes until golden brown on top.

Slice and serve.

Delicious with roasted potatoes (as I had but somehow managed to delete the picture)!
My hubby and daughter love this in a burger!

(Note: I have made this several times and I usually include frozen spinach that has been defrosted prior to adding it to the vegetable mix - however on the occasion I was taking pictures I defrosted the spinach and then forgot to stir it in!)


Share what's in your kitchen at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

Question of the day:
Have you ever debated about purchasing a kitchen gadget and had it work out more valuable than you initially thought?

Slow-cooked Mexican Stew

Monday nights are slow-cooker night in our home.
I must admit that for the first few years of owning a slow cooker I used it for nothing other than soup.
I am discovering that there is so much more than just soup that can be done in the slow cooker. I regularly make dried beans and love that on the high function it takes only 2-3 hours to cook them from scratch, even without pre-soaking if I haven't had the chance to do that.

Here's a way I make a complete meal that isn't soup:

SLOW-COOKED MEXICAN STEW

You'll need:
1 cup brown rice
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 onion
1 green capsicum
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 can tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon taco spice mix of choice

Chop all the vegetables and drain the beans.
Add all ingredients to slow cooker. 
If you have the option, saute the onion & garlic first. If not, don't worry because it will still work out and be delicious.
Cook on slow for 6-8 hours.

Serve.

The rice will fluff up to be lovely & thick. It will absorb all the liquid so that this isn't the consistency of a soup.

Slow Cooked Ratatouille with Sweet Potato and Butter Beans

I love ratatouille.... however without any starch I find it doesn't keep me full for very long.
The addition of the beans & sweet potato make this a complete meal.
And using the slow cooker means after a busy day we can come home to a complete meal all ready without having to add anything on the side.

Slow Cooked Ratatouille

1 onion
1 sweet potato
1 eggplant
1 capsicum
1 zucchini
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can butter beans, drained
1 teaspoons each dried thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary & marjoram
800g can diced tomatoes

Chop all the vegetables into reasonably sized chunks.
Add all the ingredients in a slow cooker & fill with enough water to cover (approx 1-2 cups).
Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.

I'm such a fan of simple meals like this! Easy doesn't have to compromise taste! 

 
Question of the day:
Are there any meals that are traditionally cooked in the oven that you've tried in a the slow-cooker?

WIAW - Last day of April

Can you believe it's the last day of April already?

Where on earth has this year gone???

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast was a bowl of granola - This week I made a batch using this recipe from PlantPlate. 
Lunch was my fairly regularly eaten hummus pizza.

And dinner was this absolutely delicious & super easy

Lentil & Green Vegetable Dish

(Makes 6 servings)

You'll need:
1 cup green lentils
2 bay leaves
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 green capsicum, chopped
1 400g can tomatoes
2 cups stock1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon mixed Italian herbs

Put the lentils in a pot with 2 cups water and the bay leaves, bring to the boil and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the lentils are soft.
Drain and rinse.
In a large frying pan water saute the onions til soft and then add the crushed garlic cloves.
Stir in the other chopped vegetables and saute til slightly tender. 
Add the tomatoes, lentils, stock, tomato paste & herbs. Stir until well combined.Cover and let cook for 10 minutes until all is warmed through.
Remove bay leaves prior to serving.
Serve over a wholegrain of choice.

  Shown here served with a 1/2 fresh corn cob and farro.

This was the first time I have ever cooked farro. 

It was very chewy and I'm not sure if that is how it is or if I had just undercooked it - I'm about to go and research to find out!

Question of the day:

Have you tried any new grains lately?

Mexican Chickpea Filo Pie

All this talk of pie has made me cave in.....

Yep that's right, I'm finally making a recipe with pastry!

Well I did promise the occasional treat right?!?!? ;-)

Mexican Chickpea Filo Pie

You'll need:
1 can chickpeas
1 onion
1 capsicum
1 zucchini
1 cup corn (either fresh, frozen or canned)
1 tsp each paprika, cumin, oregano
1/2 cup salsa
4 sheets filo pastry

Chop the onion, capsicum and zucchini. Combine in a large frying pan with the drained chickpeas and herbs. Dry fry until veggies are mostly cooked through. Stir through the salsa.
Line a pie tin with the sheets of filo.

Pour the veggies mixture into the pastry and gently fold the pastry over the veggies. Brush the top of the pastry with plant-milk of choice. 

 

Bake in a preheated 200C oven for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown on top.

Slice & serve :-)

Mexican Meets Italian

Another recipe that eventuated when my hubby felt like something different than me! 
He wanted pasta, I wanted Mexican.............. so we decided to merge them!

One word.....
       YUM

Oh, and another few words too.....
       TRY IT!

To serve 2 you'll need:
200g spaghetti
1 cup black beans
1 red capsicum, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup cashews
1 teaspoon chili
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 avocado, chopped into pieces

Cook spaghetti per packet directions.
In a large frying pan combine the black beans along with the chopped vegetables, corn kernels and cumin. Dry fry til veggies have softened, approx ten minutes.
While the spaghetti and bean mixture is cooking make the sauce.
In a blender combine the cashews, chili, garlic, lime juice, nutritional yeast, and water. Blend until smooth.
When the spaghetti is cooked, drain & return to the pot. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti and stir until all the strands are lightly coated, warm over gentle heat just so the sauce is warmed through.
Serve the spaghetti in a bowl with the bean/veggie mix spooned over, a large spoonful of salsa and some chopped avocado pieces.

What do you think.....?
Can Mexican and Italian be mixed?!?!?!?!?

Submitted for Healthy Vegan Friday. You can add your recipe at these blogs: 

carrie on vegan                    veggie nook                    greenthickies  

Chickpea, rice & sweet potato stew

My husband doesn't like eating rice. 
I missed eating rice.
So this dish came about.
He likes rice when its served actually "in" part of the meal - just not separately.

I have my rice fix. He doesn't eat plain rice. Everyone happy :-)

I love how simple this meal is & yet its wonderfully satisfying. It is also quick to make which means I can get it done no matter what the day has delivered.
It reheats well & since we're a home of leftover lovers it suits us quite nicely.
It could easily be doubled if you need extra.

In a large stock pot combine:

1 chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 2 squashed garlic cloves)
1 chopped green capsicum
1 chopped carrot
1 corn cob, kernels removed
1 tin drained chickpeas
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 chopped medium size sweet potato
800g tin diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon each: thyme, paprika, marjoram, sage

Cover, bring to the boil & then simmer for 15 minutes until the sweet potato is tender but not fallen apart.

Yep, its really that easy!

Serves 6

WIAW - Mexican Tofu Hash

Happy Wednesday everyone!

What did you eat today?
Add your link to What-I-Ate-Wednesday on the Peas & Crayons blog.

   Here's my eats of the day:

Recipe links:
Blueberry Lemon Muffins
Mexican Pizza - slices sandwiched together.
Lentil Pie - just made in the slow cooker instead and sliced potatoes in place of mash.
Tofu Hash - recipe below -->

Mexican Tofu Hash

When I think of a meal called "hash", potatoes come to mind! But who said you can't make a hash with tofu instead?!?!? You can always substitute the tofu for potatoes if you want a traditional hash!

I love coloured cooking!

You'll need:
1/2 cup black beans
100g firm tofu
1/2 red capsicum
1 spring onion
1/2 teaspoon each: paprika, cumin, oregano, chili
1/4 cup salsa



Chop the tofu, capsicum and onion into little cubes. Add to a dry preheated frying pan.
Add the herbs. Stir and add spoonfuls of water as needed to stop the mixture from sticking to the fry pan. Cook for approx 10 minutes or until veggies are soft. Stir in the salsa.

Serves 2.

Reverse Salad Wrap

This is what happens when your wrap is not big enough 

to contain all the salad leaves that you want inside it!!!!

I promise you its just as tasty.... and far more refreshing!

In a large mixing bowl or salad bowl combine:


2 cups mixed salad greens
1/4 cup chopped red capsicum
kernels cut off one corn cob
1 chopped spring onion
4 chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup red kidney beans
1 wholemeal wrap, torn into bite size pieces

Top with 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar & 1 Tablespoon sweet chili sauce

Mix all ingredients together well.

 Sit on couch and enjoy the large bowl of delicious and nutritious food all to yourself ;-)

Why not join healthy-vegan-fridays yourself? :-)

Cauliflower Fried Rice

This dish is soooo tasty! Great as a side dish or a main.

It can be made really quickly and you can add any vegetables you like! Great way for using up leftovers.

My only piece of advice.... don't skip on the rice wine vinegar - it adds an amazing flavour!

 

You'll need:

1 head cauliflower

1 small brown onion

1 corn cob

1 small green capsicum

1 carrot 

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 Tablespoons Tamari (or soy sauce) 

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Chop the onion. Water saute with the garlic and ginger.

Chop the corn off the cob and add it to the pan along with the chopped green capsicum and the carrot, chopped julienne.

While the veggies are in the pan, break the cauliflower into pieces and put into a food processor and process until well broken down and resembles 'rice'.

Add the cauliflower to the frying pan and mix everything well. Continue to fry, stirring frequently until the cauliflower is lightly browned. This will take about 5-7 minutes.

Add the Tamari and rice wine vinegar and mix well.

Serve :-)

Reheats really well too, either in the microwave or in a frying pan :-)

DIY Thursday

Who's joining in the 21 day kickstart?

Thursday evenings suggested meal is: Kickstart DIY: Green, grain and a bean

 

                                         Green: Silverbeet

                                         Grain: Quinoa

                                         Bean: Chickpeas

Here's the DIY adventure that I had:

Today at Coles I picked up this awesome McCormick recipe-creations spice pack for only $1.14! Of course that meant I had to incorporate that into my meal too.

This mixture of herbs & spices was just AMAZING! They really complimented each other & I will definitely be using these recipe-creations packs again.
This blend contains ground coriander seeds, coriander leaves, chili, garlic, paprika, and lemon pepper.
I used only a third of the pack and have stored the rest in a glass jar use at a later date.

To make my DIY meal I chopped a whole bunch of silverbeet, added water and placed in the microwave for 5 minutes. 
I boiled half a cup of quinoa in 1 cup of water for approx 15 minutes until the quinoa was cooked through.

I chopped a yellow capsicum & an onion. Placed them in a pan to water saute with the spices provided in the pack (except the coriander leaves).  I sauteed for 5 minutes til the onion was soft then added a drained tin of chickpeas and a teaspoon of lemon juice.

I assembled my collection of "green, grain & bean" on my plate and topped with the coriander leaves provided by the marvellous spice pack!

Result:
AmAzInGlY delicious meal that was quick & easy that will now become a regular!