Lazy Lemon Spinach Pasta: One Pot Pasta

I like to think of this as perhaps the adult version of buttered noodles? It came about after watching a movie and getting home late, with bare cupboards and hungry bellies. Now normal TVP sauce pasta isn't exactly a kitchen marathon but I wanted something faster and with even less clean up.

Which is how the following recipe was born!

Optional Try hard: Save your lemon slices for the food porn ;)

Lazy Lemon One Pot Pasta

• 2 Handfuls of spaghetti (I used the veggie blend pasta for added nutrients but any whole grain would work, or white)
• 3 cups veggie broth (or bullion powder)
• 1/2 small lemon slices
• 1/2 T mince garlic (from a jar for added laziness)
• 3 T Earth balance/vegan butter
• 1 bunch spinach loosely chopped (any other light green would work)
• 2 T dried oregano (fresh would be better but my plant died :( )
• Splash soy milk
• Salt/Pepper/Nooch to taste

Combine everything in a large pot on medium heat. Cook with cover on until noodles fall into the liquid, stir occasionally for ~10 mins or until your pasta is done. I cooked it for about 4 extra mins with the cover off for the liquid to reduce, basically you want the soy milk/vegan butter to help thicken the mixture and you can pull out your lemon slices as the flesh dissolves.

boiling it should look like this and smell like heaven

Adding nooch helps to thicken it a bit and give it a flavour boost. I tossed my finished product with some toasted sesame seeds/hemp hearts but a vegan parm or nut parm would be nice too.

As the pasta cooks you can see the liquid thicken and envelop the noodles

Voila a bare bones pantry pasta with minimal clean up, one pot, no strainer and great leftovers. If you don't have fresh lemon you could easily give a few tbs or lemon juice from a jar and it would be just as good. I am so pleased with how well this turned out and it's likely something I will always have the required goods for.

Fork Ready!!

Hope this helps someone else who is hungry and lazy out there! <3 br="">

Junk Food: Fries and Gravy

This is one of those meals that initially inspired this blog and title, the classic dinner of the university student: Fries and Gravy.

Bonus points on the junk food scale here for utilizing Frozen Steak Cut Fries baked at 450 as per-package.

The gravy utilizes some of my lovely dark onion/garlic based veggie broth and a simple gravy recipe.


Simpleton Gravy

• Homemade Veggie Broth
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed-n-minced
• fresh pepper, grey salt, paprika and cumin
• roux: Earth Balance and WW flour
• Corn Starch (if needed)

First melt your margerine in the pan over medium high heat, turning down to avoid burning. Sautee the onion with salt-n-pepper, adding the garlic, cumin and paprika once the onion is translucient. Cook until fragrant and add in your flour a little at time. Use a whisk to make the roux and cook until darkened.

Once the roux is cooked, slowly add the broth whisking as you go to ensure everything is mixing well. Continue to cook and add broth until you've reached the desired volume and thickness. If thickening isn't enough add a corn starch slurry and continue to cook.

Remove fries from the oven and plate with gravy and more salt/pepper.

Late Night Snack: Curry Caramel Corn!!

ZOMG!
Let me just say, this may be some of the best stuff I've ever tasted. I was checking out Choir Queer's Recipe and asked them if they've ever tried it without the coconut (being lazy, I didn't want to open a can for a tablespoon or two). Choir Queer advised me to try it and then let them know, so I did!

The recipe below is almost the same, and Choir Queer offers a lovely step by step photo guide along with their recipe at there blog: Here. 

ETA: I've just been informed the original inspiration came from peas and thank you!

That version looks super fancy and tasty, but my kitchen being what it was I made a few changes.






 Salty, Spicy, Curry Caramel Corn!

• plain popcorn popped with you prefered method
• 1/2 or more sesame seeds
• 3 heaping TBS Margerine
• Splash of Sesame oil (I a tiny drizzle left)
• 1 large tsp Curry Powder
• 1 tsp of fine salt
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar + 2 table spoons
• Splash of maple syrup
• Coarse sea salt, Fresh ground black pepper and cayanne

Pop your corn however you like. I have two main ways, the lazy way: take a brown paper bag, handful of corn, fold the bag over and microwave with the popcorn button. Or the old fashioned way on the stove: Coat the bottom of a pan with canola oil, heat over medium high until glossy, add enough corn to make a single layer on the bottom. Turn heat down to medium, and shake the pan until the corn pops. Once you've done your corn, toss it into a bowl and rinse you pan (or grab a pan or microwavable dish if you don't have a stove).

With your pan over heat melt the margerine and sprinkle in your sesame oil if using. Stir until combined over heat, then shut off the heat. Now grab your brown sugar and dump into the pan stiring until it melts. Add your curry powder, fine salt, mapple syrup and a dash of cayanne if you want it creamy.
Once sugar melts turn heat to medium and continue stiring over heat until it bubbles and is fully combined 3-5 minutes. Mine kinda looked like those candy making videos with lots of bubbles and if you push some up on the pan it slides off easily. Remove quickly from heat and toss over popcorn, toss in your sesame seeds and toss to coat.

Continue tossing until you can get it evenly coated or mixed around. While the caramel is still tacky sprinkle your coarse sea salt/grey salt, grind pepper and add your cayanne (if you didn't put it straight into the sauce). Keep tossing to coat.

Eat all at once and feel fancy!

Alternatively you could try using garlic powder, chili powder or other savoury flavours into the sauce or corn. This would also make a pretty nifty house warming gift!

Veganmofo V: Iron Chef Challenge #1: Secret Chickpeas!

 So I was a tad bit late to the game and craving something hearty (after all it is thanksgiving weekend, even if you are a single girl living alone). Therefore my humble entry into the first Vegan Iron Chef Challenge is

::drum roll::

Chickpea Pie!

As it turns out there are about a million different ways people make shepard's pie both vegan and non-vegan. The way my mother used to do it was super plain, fry hamburger (maybe onion), top with cream corn and mashed potatoes, sprinkle paprika and bake. But a quick google search brings up thousands of variations most of which seem to involve gravy and some carrots/peas/corn/green bean combo.

Here's my recipe.

Single Chick's Pea Pie

• 1 can chickpeas (homemade if you aren't pressed for time)
• 4 thin skinned potatoes
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 small (10 oz) cans of veggies (whatever is on sale, I used 1 carrots and peas + 1 10 oz can of carrot, pea, corn and bean)
• 2 large spoon fulls of white miso
• 2/3 cup warm water
• 1/4 WW flour
• 1/2 onion
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp celery seed, poultry seasoning, oregano, thyme, sage, Rosemary, paprika
• 1 tsp coarse ground salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp earth balance
• 1 cup water, vegetable stock  or water mixed with boullion.
• 2 stalks of green onion (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and heat 2 large Tbsp of oil oil in cast iron skillet
2. Scrub and chop potatoes before adding to boiling water, cook until done and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, Dice onion and mince your garlic. Add onion to hot oil and stir, add salt and pepper. Drain your can of chickpeas and vegetables (keep chickpeas separate from veggies!).
4. One onions start to become translucent add your garlic (reduce heat to medium high) and seasonings. Continue to cook until fragrant.
5. Add chickpeas, stirring to coat everything in oil/spices. Cook until chickpeas are seasoned. Then add earth balance until melted and sprinkle flour into pan. Stir quickly to dissolve flour completely (it may be easier to combine flour/earth balance in a small dish and then add to pan).
6. Once flour mixture is coating the chickpeas, mix miso and warm water together stiring until miso is dissolved. Add the miso mixture to skillet and stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add your water/broth slowly, stir until mixture thickens.
7. 
8. Continue to cook chickpeas/gravy until mixture is thick and begins to bubble, reduce heat to simmer stirring occasionally. Allow this to cook for another 7 minutes before adding your drained vegetables. 
9. Cook mixture until your mashed potatoes are ready, aim for at least 15 minutes so the flavours can hang out a bit.
10. When potatoes are cooked, drain and mash them with the Almond milk, adding just enough to get a consistency you enjoy. Mix in the green onions to the potatos.
11. 
12. Take your gravy chickepea mixture and layer it into an oven safe casserole dish or pie pan. Cover mixture with mashed potatoes, top with additional green onion pieces if desire crack black pepper and parika over top. Bake until top is golden brown and dish is heated through.

This is a super rich and pretty salty gravy thanks to the miso, I think next time I would try adding 1/4 cup of nooch to the base to see how it goes. In my household we always ate shepherd's pie with a side of pickles, so grab some of those if you have them and chow down.

Either way there is no attractive way to plate this puppy, so here she is:

Silky, creamy, rich and savoury filling with potato/scallions.

Squash and Kale Pasta

I am not kidding when I say this may be the best thing I have ever made. Seriously, I was a cocking son-of-a-bitch for 3 full days after I made this, it was that impressive and good. This is so not my typical dish, flavour or style, but it is amazing! Much more sophisticated then my usual kitchen works. And look! there is even a real honest to goodness recipe!

this is the dish to go to for autumn filling.


Butter smooth squash, with a light creamy sauce coating pasta and veggies. And the crunchy, spicy kick of the roasted seeds (optional, but you'll be missing out!). A great seasonal dish! That is somehow rich and light at the same time!


Autumn Delight: Squash Pasta

1/2 lb. winter squash
1 medium onion diced
1/2 bunch baby kale
2-3 fat cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup veggie stock
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
leftover roux based sauce (optional)
nooch (optional)
1 recipe roasted squash seeds (optional)
1/2 lb. pasta (any short pasta)

Seasoning to taste:
Cumin
Cayanne
Pepper
Paprika
sage
mustard seeds
pinch of nutmeg
salt
thyme
rosemary
serves 1 with leftovers
time 45 minutes


1 Quarter, peel and de-seed the squash. Cut the squash into small cubes (no larger than 1/2"). chop onion into similarly sized cubes
2 Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat; add the squash, onion, pepper, mustard seeds and sauté, stirring from time to time. Cook until the squash is basically cooked-through, but still relatively firm (about 10ish minutes), seasoning to taste with salt,pepper and other seasonings.

3 Meanwhile, mince the garlic; wash the kale, chop stems and roughly tear up the leaves. When the squash is nearly cooked through, add the garlic and kale. Cook for another couple of minutes, until the kale is wilted and the garlic soft.
4 Add stock and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, and continue cooking until the squash has reached a tenderness to your liking . If the mixture starts to dry out, you can add a little bit more stock (or even water). Once the squash is cooked properly, stir in the non-dairy milk and if you have leftover white vegan sauce that is made with a roux add that in chunks. Roux based sauces tend to thicken a lot when chilled and if you add some to your pan it's kinda like a soft cheese or bits of tofu.
5 Toss squash mixture with nooch, roasted seeds and cooked pasta. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with grated vegan cheese if desired and top with roasted seeds if using.



1 Recipe Roasted seeds
1 squash worth of seeds
2 tbs olive oil
Seasoning:
Cayenne
salt
pepper
garlic powder

pre-heat oven to 350 and place a piece of parchment paper onto a tray. Toss the seeds with oil and spices and arranged in a single layer on sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes stirring once or twice. Careful they don't burn!



Seriously!! I am not kidding go make this disk right now!

Veganmofo: unlikely pair

This is one of my current late night, no groceries and papers due in 6 hours meals.

Potatoes and sesame seeds!
Because protein is important, but not always present in my apartment.

Needs:
Cast iron skillet
Olive oil
Sesame Seeds
Potatoes
Garlic
cumin, mustardseed, sage, thyme, oregano, paprika, Cayenne, coriander, rosemary, pepper and anything else you find laying around.

Pre-heat oven to 400, dice potatoes and toss in oil, spices and seeds.
Throw your skillet into the oven with potatoes (I put extra oil over top, to be good and sure nothing sticks). cook for 20-30 minutes or until done.

Stir occasionally and enjoy!



Apologies for the bad photos, this was eaten late and our lighting is awful.

Veganmofo: Cheesy Potatoes!!

The other day I needed something for breakfast, and as my luck would have it Ms. Kittee herself was waking up and logging on. So I asked the expert who told me these three magical words: nooch, oil and Potatoes.



Scalloped potatoes it was!

Now, unfortunately there aren't any real measurements here just simple steps.

First:

Slice your potatoes as thinly as possible and pre-heat your oven to 350.

2nd:
Combine nooch and oil in a measuring glass. I had a cup or so of nooch the first time, but the flakes deflate when they get wet, so you might have to play with it a bit.



I used a fork to whisk the nooch and olive oil together with salt and pepper. I also added a bit of soymilk for creaminess. You'll know when you get the right consistency because it will be thick, creamy and saucy.



3rd step:
Toss your potatoes slices into a casserole dish and cover in sauce. If you need more sauce, repeat step two until adequate sauce coverage is achieved.



Step 4:
Cover in tinfoil or lid if you have one. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes covered (until potatoes are soft and sauce is bubbly). Then increase to 400, remove lid and cook for 15 minutes of until edge brown.



Optional: I added some vegan cheese to the mix, but it's totally not needed!
I do recommend you serve these hot! I find the next day the sauce tends to really dry out and they are more like nooch crusted potatoes.



For a more complete meal serve with some baked tofu and greens. Yum!

Veganmofo: Student's Chili

Here's a simple and easy chili recipe. I threw this together last night for supper and it made enough for lunches for the next few days plus more the freezer. The main point of this meal was to make use of the last little bits we had running around. Depending upon what you use it can be fairly budget friendly as well.



One thing I like to do with jars of salsa and tomato sauce (or really any kind of sauce, pickles, jams etc) is once the jar is empty to add hot water to the jar and shake to get all the little bits of sauce left. And I normally save these remnants for sauces, soups, stews and other dishes that cook for a while. Not only does this make cleaning the jars for later use a breeze but it also ensures you get every last bit of sauce


Hungry Student's chili

1 can kidney beans
3 cups leftover beans
1 pack veggie grounds
1 onion diced
3 cloves of garlic diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
leftover spaghetti sauce, salsa, black strap molasses
asian chili sauce
olive oil
cooking sherry

Spices:
Mustard seeds
cumin
garlic powder
crushed red pepper
paprika
Cayenne pepper
oregano
sage
thyme
dried rosemary
fresh ground pepper
fresh rosemary

Optional: corn starch

In a large pot heat your oil and add your onions mustard seeds and cumin. Sautee until onions are translucent while grinding in pepper. Once the onions begin to turn add your remaining spices and continue to stir, being sure to scrap the bottom. Now add your diced garlic and continue to cook until fragrant, keep scrapping the bottom.

Once your garlic is fragrant add your veggie grounds and cook until browned. De-glaze the pan with cooking sherry, keep the heat high and scrap the bottom. Now add more red pepper flakes, paprika and cumin.

Be sure to drain the beans if using canned. Add beans to pot and stir, cooking for 3 minutes and adding more pepper.

Now add your leftover bits of sauce, salsa and molasses. Stir and adjust for seasonings. Add your tomato paste and canned tomatoes, rinse cans and add liquid. Don't forget the chili sauce if you have it, a tsp or so should do.

Continue cooking and tasting, adjust seasoning but be careful as your pepper flakes/overall spice will increase with the cooking time. Cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

If your chili seems to thin, remove some of the liquid with your spoon and place into a mug/bowl and create a slurry with a bit of corn starch. But sure to stir until starch is completely dissolved before adding back to the pot. Cook for an additional 20 minutes, repeating as needed.



Remember chili gets better the longer it cooks. But once you cannot wait any longer dig in! And enjoy

Also this recipe makes leftovers, so freeze some for latter use.

Veganmofo: Easy school lunch

Now, the important thing to remember here is that I have never before made a grain salad. I wasn't entirely sure how to, so perhaps this dish is really just cold rice and veggies. Having only ever sampled grain salads from grocery delis where every bean/rice salad seems to be flavoured with leftover sweet pickle juice (ew!!!). I was not a fan. I prefer my grains savoury, maybe with a hint of sour.



Wild Rice and Bean Salad

1 cup wild and brown rice mix
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
dash of salt
1/2 cup frozen white beans (is using caned you will need to rinse, and re-rinse. You may actually want to add more beans, I felt it could have had more)
1/2 medium onion diced
3 tsp minced garlic
1 red pepper diced (or vegetables of your choice. Red was all I had)

Herbs:
1 pinch sage
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary
2 dashes of paprika
1 pinch poultry spice
1 pinch basil
1 pinch thyme
salt and pepper

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 sherry
1/4 (just under a quarter) balsamic vinegar
Repeat of herb mix with the addition of fresh dill

Optional toppings:
Shredded nori
Sesame seeds
nut of choice

First coat a heavy bottomed pot with oil and cook your onions with pepper and mustard see until fragrant. Add garlic and continue cooking, deglaze pan with sherry is desired. Now add you rice and toast, before adding liquid and your selection of herbs. Bring to boil, boil hard for a minute, before reducing to a low simmer for 55 minutes (or until done).



Meanwhile dice your pepper and make your dressing, it can be made in the measuring cup and combined by whisking with a fork. Set aside.

Once rice is done allow to cool, if you have extra liquid drain your rice. Once rice is cooled (better yet, use this recipe to use up leftover rice!) add your pepper and dressing. Toss to coat and refrigerate overnight (at least an hour!).

Post-Modern Lasagna

As any good post-modern lasagna this challenges traditional lasagna views and standards, and is a little bit twisted.

What you will need:
2 1/2 cups WW spiral (or bow tie) pasta
1 firm block of tofu (frozen then defrosted)
1/2 cups plain or unsweetened soymilk
1 T lemon juice
1 T dried basil
2 t oregano
1 t sea salt
1/2 white onion chopped
5 garlic cloves chopped
3 cups chopped spinach
1 green onion stalk
3 medium sized green garlic shoots
1 jar or recipe for you favorite tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste

To begin: Preheat oven to 355
Boil your noodles in salted water until almost done or al dente.While the noodle cook, blend your remaining ingredients (except your tomato sauce and greens!) until nearly smooth (if you like a chunkier texture, I won't tell). Dice your greens up and put them aside. Take a small amount of Olive oil to grease your baking dish (The deeper the better!). Once the dish is greased, add in your tofu mixture form the blender and add your chopped greens, stir until combined. Once your noodles are done, drain and rinse in cold running water, shake dry and add to baking dish. Toss to combine/coat with tofu mixture, then poor jar of tomato sauce over top. Shake a few times so the sauce drips on down and add your salt and pepper to the top.

Now pop that sucker in for the next 35 minutes or until nice and bubbly. Let sit for a few minutes before serving, optional nooch or vegan cheese for the top and you are set babies!

Miso and Roast Garlic Mashed Potatoes

An amazingly delectable dish with added health benefits of miso, making the classic Mashed Potato a healthier indulgence.

This recipe is extremely simple, you may use whichever miso you have on hand, I used dark.

3 large potatoes (diced into small cubes, leaving the skins on! They are good for you and we're trying to be healthy here)
1/2 red onion minced
1 T olive oil
3 large cloves of roasted garlic
1/2 T miso
1 T soy milk
1/4 Cup EB
Pepper

Chop you potatoes and boil in salted water until tender. Chop your red onion, preheat a cast iron skillet with Olive Oil and fry onions until crispy. While you wait on the potatoes combine the other ingredients and mash well (to insure there are no garlic chunks). Whip the miso mixture until smooth and combine with the cooked potatoes. Mash together. Top with your onions and enjoy.