rice and beans

January 15, 2013
by eatafood
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beans / comfort / grains / meals / quick / one-pot / rice / tomato

this is what of those times when i was trying to whip up a quick thing, didn’t taste while i was cooking, thought might suck but magically turned out to be the BEST RICE AND BEANS I’VE EVER HAD.

it sounds unexciting, it is not.

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RICE + BEANS

2 c. cooked long grain rice (white or brown) cooked in broth

a bunch of scallions, chopped with white and green separated

4 big mushrooms, sliced thin

1 heaped tbsp ground cumin

1 heaped tbsp chilli powder

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ground coriander

big pinch chili flakes

zest of 1 lime, and half of the juice

4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 of a can chopped tomatoes (no spices!)

1 small can adzuki beans, rinsed

big handful chopped cilantro

black pepper (no salt! cooking the rice in broth should be salty enough)

firstly, cook your rice. once it is done:

heat some olive oil in a big pot and sauté white parts of scallions and cook for a minute. add mushrooms until slightly browned. add spices and stir until fragrant, add another tbsp oil if it dries up. add rice and stir until coated. add tomatoes and garlic. let cook and warm through for 10 minutes. add lime and zest. top with scallions and cilantro, mix through and eat!

baked cheesey quinoa with kale and cherry tomatoes

January 14, 2013
by eatafood
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grains / kale / meals / quinoa / tomato

i know the last recipe was for cheese sauce too, BUT that’s exactly why this happened. i had a bit leftover and it carried through to this recipe.this is much less cheesey than the last post (veg hash with cheesey sauce poured all over it).

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BAKED QUINOA

1 1/2 c. quinoa

3 c. broth

10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

big handful italian parsley, chopped

1/2 bunch kale, veined and chopped fine

if you don’t have leftover sauce, make a half batch of the cheese sauce here

1/3 c. white wine

1/3 c. almond milk

1 tsp chili paste

CRUMB TOPPING

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1/8 c. nutritional yeast

big pinch of tasty salt and lots of black pepper

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

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cook quinoa in broth! bring to a boil then simmer with a lid for about 15 minutes until broth is absorbed. heat sauce in a small saucepan and add white wine, almond milk and chili paste. stir everything together (except crumb topping). spread into an oiled casserole dish. mix crumb topping and spread over top. drizzle with olive oil and bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then broil until golden.

broccoli, greens, zucchini potato hash with cheese sauce

January 11, 2013
by eatafood
comment 1
breakfasts / broccoli / greens / meals / potato / savoury

this is a variation on a breakfast i make all the time on the weekend. it just depends what i have in the house, and i usually do gravy but it occured to me, why have gravy when i can have cheese sauce? changing things up!

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HASH

oil

a dozen nugget potatoes (the store i like has little purple ones i really like)

1/2 head broccoli, cut small

4 scallions, white parts and green parts separate

1/3 of a zucchini, cut in half then sliced

2 handfuls of greens, kale or spinach chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

a bit of nutritional yeast

dice potatoes and roast in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper and a few shakes of nutritional yeast. meanwhile, sautee white parts of the scallions. add broccoli stems (chopped small) and cook for a couple minutes. add florets, garlic and zucchini, until the broccoli is bright green. add greens just so they wilt and season with salt and pepper.

SAUCE

3 tbsp butter

a glurg of olive oil

1/4 c. flour

2 c. broth

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

lots of black pepper

1 tsp chili paste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp mustard

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

big handful of daiya

heat oil and butter then whisk in flour. slowly add hot broth and whisk as it thickens. add everything else and cook until the cheese is melted.

this makes breakfast for two. in shallow bowls, plate potatoes then top with veg and sauce. garnish with green onion and a few extra cracks of black pepper.

breakfast sandwich with scramble, potato, avocado, tomato and zucchini

January 7, 2013
by eatafood
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avocado / breakfasts / potato / quick / one-pot / sandwiches / savoury / tomato

a breakfast (sandwich of vegan) champions. very filling very tasty. this recipe is for 2 people.

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THE SAMMY

2 whole wheat grainy ciabatta style buns (big, flattish)

1 tomato cut in thick slices

1 avocado, sliced

4 pieces of nice lettuce

1 potato, sliced into thin medallions

2 inches of zucchini, sliced into medallions

1 fat clove of garlic, cut in half

daiya if you’d like

a bit of nutritional yeast

your favourite tofu scramble. if you don’t have i have a recipe here and also here.

hot mustard or a good seed mustard

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ASSEMBLY

make your scramble! if you have leftover scramble then you are in a very good place right now. otherwise cook up a quicky, luckily scramble doesn’t take too long. meanwhile fry potato medallions on both sides until slightly crispy and cooked through. put aside and dust with nutritional yeast and black pepper. then in the same pan fry your zucchini with a sprinkle of salt just until they have some colour.

once everything is cooked cut your buns in half! toast them then rub the inside of each bun with the cut side of your garlic clove (this does more than you’d think). if you want to use daiya, sprinkle some of one half of each bun and broil quickly to melt. if not, give that bun a little coat of good olive oil. on your other bun, spread a  bit of mustard.  lay out half an avocado on each sandwich, then potato, then tomato, then scramble, then lettuce, then zucchini then bun. serve!

hot and sour soup

January 3, 2013
by eatafood
comments 3
comfort / mushrooms / quick / one-pot / sichuan / soups

first off, hot and sour soup is maybe one of my favourite foods ever. especially if it’s cold or i’m tired or sick or hungover or anything. it is delicious spicy weird mushroom filled comfort.

this was my first crack at making it, and it went pretty well. it needs some tweaking but it’s very close and definitely delicious as is. with this in mind, here is a recipe for 6 big servings of soup.

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3 tbsp ginger, finely minced

1/2 head of garlic, minced

1 tsp sichuan peppercorns, smashed a bit

6 dried shitake mushrooms, sliced thin

1 dried snow fungus, cut into bite sized pieces

2 dried cloud ear mushrooms (my store had it labeled simply as black fungus), sliced thin

1/2 can bamboo shoots, cut into thin strips

a small handful of enochi mushrooms

2 carrots, julienned

1/2 block medium soft tofu, cut into strips

1/2 package fried tofu, cut into strips

2 handfuls choy sum or baby bok choy

1 bunch scallions, sliced (green and white parts separated)

cilantro for garnish

1/8 c. black vinegar

2 tsp white vinegar

1 heaped tbsp chili paste

1 tbsp chili bean paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

6-8 c. broth

1/8 c. cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 c. cold water

before you start anything, soak you mushrooms for an hour. soak the cloud ear and snow fungus together and the shitakes with just enough water to cover. cut off the woody stem bits from the cloud ear and snow fungus. reserve liquid from the shitakes.

once they are all soaked, it’s time to make soup. heat oil in a pot, and fry half of the garlic, all the ginger, peppercorns and white parts of the scallions until fragrant.  add carrots, all mushrooms and saute. add hot broth, shitake water and bring to a boil. while you’re waiting, slice ends off of bok choy and rinse with cold water. slice fine (esp white parts). add to soup along with tofu and bamboo shoots. turn down to a high simmer and add soy, vinegars, chili and chili bean paste. taste and adjust sourness (with the black vinegar) and hotness (with chili paste) to suit your tastes. cook until heated through and all ingredients are tender (20 minutes). add cornstarch and stir. turn off heat, stir in green onion and let thicken. garnish with cilantro.