pantry+ blackened moroccan chickpea patty

Last year I began creating Dump Dinner recipes, but as a wise person pointed out, "dump" anything just doesn’t sound that appetizing. Besides that, I felt that Dump Dinner recipes were more of a rut than a liberation. All of a sudden, I had to come up with ideas where you would throw all the ingredients into a single pot and come out with a gourmet meal. It sounds appealing theoretically, but it is actually pretty limiting.

As you may know, I’ve recently reviewed a few easy and quick cookbooks (Vegan-ease by Laura Theodore and Cook the Pantry by Robin Robertson). While both books are amazing, I want to take this next segment of recipes a bit further.

Although I didn’t mean to blab about it so soon, it turns out I need something to say, so why not this?

Here’s the skinny: I introduce you to a limited pantry of dry goods and then, with a few (five or six) fresh ingredients (or ingredients not on the Pantry list), I create a simple and easy recipe, good for lunch or dinner. If you’ve heard of this already, it’s because Michael Symon features this on the TV show The Chew (I haven't actually seen the show, but I have seen the cookbook).

It is no secret that Michael is in no way, shape or form anywhere near vegetarian, so his recipes are useless, but the idea of cooking with a limited pantry along with a few fresh ingredients sounds grand! I’ve decided to apply it to vegan cooking. Although it does present more challenges because, while a piece of steak is “food” onto itself, a bit of work goes into preparing a delicious slab of, say, tofu. In fact, I often wonder how these “chefs” can call themselves worthy of the title when they run scared from a cake of soybeans.

So, I am completely serious about this way of cooking, to the point that I’ve created a page for the pantry and am dubbing this “Pantry+.” (read: Pantry Plus, because you need a limited pantry plus a few fresh ingredients.) Fingers crossed it goes over well!

Enough prattling! My first recipe:

Blackened Moroccan Chickpea Patties.

For the Moroccan part of the recipe you will need Ras el Hanout spice mixture. This is one of the seven global spice mixtures I’ll be using for Pantry+ recipes. My recipe is a simplified version of it, so if you would like more depth or you can easily find it at a local grocer, awesome! If not, mix up this batch (it makes about ¼ cup), store it in your pantry and have it ready for next time.

Equipment:
Food processor
Cast iron pan

Pantry ingredients are:
Ras el Hanout spice mix
Chickpeas
Bread crumbs
Vegetable broth (if needed)
Olive oil or vegan mayonnaise (optional)

Fresh ingredients are:
Onion
Bell pepper
Lemon
Lettuce
Tomato
Pita bread

Sweet, right?!?
Limited prep work, limited ingredients and still big on taste! Let's get cooking!

First things first, let's make the spice mixture. You will need:

After toasting the whole ingredients (cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, peppercorn and cumin), add the rest of the ingredients (including paprika, which I forgot to add to the photo :0 ) and process in a small blender or spice grinder. Then you will end up with this:

And now for the recipe, you will need:

After grinding the chickpeas and breadcrumbs, they are formed into 4 patties and dredged in the Ras el Hanout spice mixture. The patties are then blackened in a dry cast iron skillet (or one that is lightly oiled). The onion and pepper are sliced thin and dry cooked in the pan until charred and crisp tender.

Season the lettuce and tomaotes with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and serve in pita bread. That pita bread right there, btw, is homemade. I'm watching my consumption of plastic and this is something I can bake relatively easily. Stay tuned for overnight refrigerated whole wheat bread - this will help prepare fresh bread easily in the morning before running to work. At least that is my hope!

Now for the announcement of the winner of the Jazzy Vegetarian DVD set! The winner is Susan Smoaks! Congratulations! Susan, please contact me at zsu [at] zsusveganpantry [dot] com. Thank you!

Blackened Moroccan Chickpea Patties Pita
Makes 4 sandwiches

Olive oil (optional)
1 medium onion
1 medium bell pepper
1 3/4 to 2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons Ras el Hanout spice mix
4 pita breads, warmed
8 pieces lettuce leaves 
8 tomato slices
1/2 lemon, juiced

1. Heat the oil (or the dry pan) in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the top and bottom off the onion, cut in half, peel and slice into thin half moons. Cut the sides and bottom off the bell pepper and cut into thin slices. Add the onion, bell pepper and some salt and pepper (to taste) to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until charred and crisp tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Add the chickpeas and salt to a food processor and grind into a coarse meal. Add the breadcrumbs and pulse to combine.  Form the chickpeas into 4 patties (adding a few splashes of vegetable broth if the patties don’t hold together). Dredge the patties in the spice mixture and set aside.
3. Remove the onion mixture from the skillet and set aside. Add the patties and cook until blackened, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 minutes on the other side.
4. Season the lettuce and tomato with the lemon juice, olive oil (if desired) and salt. Stuff the pita with the onion, pepper, lettuce, tomato and a patty. Serve.  


© 2016 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.



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jazzy vegetarian + giveaway

Jazzy Vegetarian is on the Create Network and some PBS stations! In fact, the 5th season began in May, but it is never too late to catch the show being rebroadcast. I checked my local (local, yes, but not where I live, sadly!) Create Network and even Jazzy Vegetarian Season 1 is being aired, so, yes, you can catch Laura Theodore almost twice a week, if not more.

Laura Theodore is the Jazzy vegetarian who brings healthy, accessible and easy meals to every table. This season's theme is Vegan-easy meals and the season has an accompanying cookbook: Laura Theodore's Vegan-ease: An Easy Guide to Enjoying a Plant-Based Diet [AMAZON, B&N]. I reviewed this book last year; check it out.

"This fifth season of the award-winning Jazzy Vegetarian show is filled with fabulous, ved-ucational guests, and plenty of jazzy-licious, plant-based recipes. From Sunday Brunch to a Garden-Fresh Dinner, Laura Theodore — with help from celebrity guests like Lidia Bastianich, Julieanna Hever, and Rickey Medlocke, (lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd); — cooks healthy, delicious food for family and friends."

So, what kinds of dishes does Laura prepare on the show? Recipes like:

This delicious salad was a breeze to make and tasted really delicious. Laura suggests that you can use tamari almonds, which gave me the idea to use wasabi almonds. So good! Watch Laura prepare this dish on Create right HERE!

Then I made these amazing crabcakes. They are so simple to prepare, but deliver big. Laura makes this recipe into 8 cakes, but I'm from Texas - everything needs to be bigger, so I made 4 cakes, extra thick:

While flipping through the book I noticed an(other) easy salad recipe, but this one with a quick feta. I had to try it!

So very easy and yummy! The tofu feta is surprisingly delicious, given the simple recipe that it is. I threw in a few slices of jalapeno, simply because I love spice and I used fresh herbs since they are growing in my garden; a small garden, but herbs it does have.

Finally, I wanted to make something I knew my family would love - seitan! You can watch Laura make this dish on Create Network right HERE. Laura uses easily bought seitan, but I like making my own seitan (recipe in Everyday Vegan Eats [AMZON]) because it is more flavorful, tender and moist. And since we like our Seitan Piccata with a bit of sauce, I tightened it up with a bit of cornstarch/arrowroot slurry (mix 1/2 cup broth with 2 tablespoons starch and add it at the end; cook for 30 more seconds).

Of course, we had to have a side with this delicious meal and we chose another caper dish - Cauliflower, Broccoli and Caper Medley.

If you would like to make any of these recipes, get yourself Laura's Vegan-Ease cookbook [AMAZON, B&N]! All these recipes are in the book, plus menus, tips and tricks and plenty of vegan-ease recipes to keep you well fed.

Make sure to catch Laura's Jazzy Vegetarian show on Create Network or PBS stations on Wednesdays and Sundays. Check the schedule for Create Network right here at the link.

What? You don't get Create Network in your area, either (just like me) and Jazzy Vegetarian hasn't been brought to your PBS network, yet??? First, write to your cable network to get Create Network and then pen an email or letter to your local station to start airing Jazzy Vegetarian. The more people ask, the quicker we can get Laura to be broadcast everywhere.

In the meantime, head over to Laura's website and pick up a few Jazzy Vegetarian DVDs. You can get the 3-disk DVD collection HERE. If you would like other combo packs of DVDs or cookbooks, head over HERE to check out the selection.

Because I really love Laura and what she is doing to help the animals and people, and because I love her recipes, I am giving away her 3-disk DVD collection (the one I linked to above), so be sure to enter below by commenting on this post. If you go and check out Laura's Jazzy Vegetarian Facebook page, come back and post a SEPARATE comment for a SECOND chance to win the DVDs! Score!

I will be picking the winner on August 9th, midnight. Only US entrees, please. Thank you and good luck!

Laura is sharing a recipe from the show and it is just in time for summer: Strawberry Mountain Pie! Thanks to David Kaplan for taking the great photo of the pie. 

Photo by David Kaplan

Strawberry Mountain Pie
Makes 6 to 8 servings / Ease Factor 2        

This delightful and delicious pie provides the perfect showcase for seasonal organic strawberries. The filling is so creamy you will not believe it’s based in raw cashews and tofu. Easy to assemble and super yummy!

CRUST

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegan cookie crumbs or vegan graham cracker crumbs (see note)
3 to 5 heaping tablespoons sesame tahini
1½ tablespoons nondairy milk

FILLING

16 ounces extra-firm regular tofu
8 ounces soft silken tofu
1⁄3 cup raw cashews
1⁄3 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegan white sugar or your preferred dry sweetener

TOPPING

16 ounces organic strawberries
2 tablespoons strawberry preserves
2½ teaspoons filtered or spring water


 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the crust, put the cookie crumbs, 3 heaping tablespoons tahini and 1 1⁄2 tablespoons nondairy milk in a medium-sized bowl and combine using a large fork or dough blender. Add more tahini until the crumbs are moistened, but still crumbly in texture (up to 5 heaping tablespoons of tahini in all). Press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 5 minutes. Put the pie plate on a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.

While the crust cools, put the extra-firm regular tofu, silken tofu, cashews and sugar in a blender and process until smooth. Pour the tofu mixture over the cooled crust. Spread in an even layer and smooth the top. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top of the pie is slightly firm to the touch (center of the filling will still be very soft). Put the pan on a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes.

While the pie bakes, trim 1⁄8- to 1⁄4-inch off the wide end of each strawberry. Then, when the pie is out of the oven but still warm, arrange the strawberries, flat end down, in a pleasing pattern on top of the pie, gently pressing the end of each strawberry into the filling so it stands upright. Put the preserves and water in a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Spread the preserves evenly over the top of the strawberries using a pastry brush or small spoon.

Refrigerate 4 to 8 hours before serving. Carefully cut the pie into slices (the filling will be soft). Stored tightly covered in the refrigerator, leftover pie will keep for about 2 days.

Chef’s Note: To make cookie crumbs, put  1 1⁄2 to 2 cups of broken-up vegan cookies in a blender, and process to coarse crumbs. Add more cookies, as needed, to make the amount of crumbs needed for this recipe.

Amount per serving, based on 8 servings:  166 Calories; 6g Fat; 1g Saturated fat; 7g Protein; 57mg Sodium; 23g Total Carbohydrate; 12g Sugars; 2g Fiber

Recipes from Laura Theodore's Vegan-Ease: An Easy Guide to Enjoying a Plant-Based Diet © Laura Theodore 2015, Jazzy Vegetarian, LLC. Reprinted by permission. More information at www.vegan-ease.com and www.jazzyvegetarian.com

"peace and parsnips" + giveaway

Obviously, a labor of much love, Lee Watson (Blog, Twitter) brings us a classic-in-the-works in the form of Peace and Parsnips (Amazon, B&N), Adventurous Vegan Cooking for Everyone.

The title really says it all: ADVENTUROUS vegan cooking, is right. Lee covers everything in this book, from making vegan milks to condiments and everything in between: small plates, smoothies, salads, soups, sides, curries, big plates, baked & stuffed, sweet treats, burgers & more, and even breakfast - all with his unique spin and authenticity.

This is a gorgeous hardcover book filled with wonderful photography and delectable recipes. Along with the creative and inspirational recipes, Lee voraciously regales us with witty and endearing lore of his travels. Uniquely, he is one who has traveled the path he tales about.

What about the food, tho? Indeed, he delivers big on flavor and his enthusiasm for the dishes is nothing short of spot-on.

Since I have been doing very little besides finishing up Aquafaba (Amazon, B&N), it should come as little surprise that I was only able to make a few recipes from P&P, but worry not, folks, for these are just the tip of my adventurous cooking from this book. It really is worth it. There are few books that actually pique my interest with their content, and this is definitely one of the jewels in the bunch.

The first recipe I made was from the Big Plates chapter, Persian Fava Bean, Seitan & Green Herb Stew.

I was not a bit thrown when I saw that among the ingredients was methi leaves, which are dried fenugreek leaves, very common in Indian grocers, and Iranian limes. Of course, even though I was non-pulsed by the unusual ingredients, I also came up short regarding the limes. I knew what it was but (gasp) I didn't actually have it.

Ingredients for Persian Stew: (from top left) dill, cinnamon, turmeric root, radish, cinnamon, dried lime, lemon peel, dried fenugreek in the middle.

A quick search on Amazon came up with a few expensive options. Since I had fresh limes and a dehydrator (or even the sun) I decided to dry my own limes. I'm happy to report that after a few preliminary preparations for the limes, they dried out beautifully and tasted exactly as they should after about five days in the dehydrator at 110-degrees.

As Lee says, the herbs make this dish sing. He's right. I cooked up the rice with a few grates of fresh turmeric root. This dish made a lot and we were all the better for it.

My second dish from the adventurous cookbook turned out to be Smoked Tofu Sausage Sandwiches with Red Onion Marmalade & Kale Chips, from the Burgers & More chapter. Which sounds like it's easy, peasy, right? Almost. It turns out that even my Whole Foods doesn't carry smoked tofu. But since I started making homemade ingredients why stop now, right? Have smoker, will smoke.

My stove-top smoker is actually very easy to use and does a wonderful job smoking using hot smoke, so that's how I got my smoked tofu, but Lee actually has an easier alternative than smoking tofu, but far be it by me to take the easy route.

The sandwiches are made using the baked sausages and homemade red onion marmalade. They are accompanied by baked kale chips. This was one serious sandwich, folks!

I bet you want to make something from Lee's creative mind, too! You're in for a treat with his Asparagus Club Sandwich with Rainbow Chard and Pine Nut Cream. Make it, eat it and then enter the giveaway to have your chance to win this book.

Of course, if you can't wait until the 19th to hear the result or another few weeks to get the book if you are lucky enough to win it, (and who can blame you?!?) then do yourself a favor and grab your own copy. Don't wait! Besides, the contest is open to US and Canada residents only, but the book is actually available everywhere that books are sold and read. Good luck!

Image credit to Alistair Richardson

                   PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE


Asparagus Club Sandwiches with Rainbow Chard & Pine Nut Cream
The Trump Tower of sandwich construction, the Empire State Building of munch, the Shard of…you get the idea. This one is quite tall. Incredibly green and healthy, with a touch of chard technicolor among the layers, it’s a light and quick sandwich to whip up and stack. Three tiers of tofu and panfried asparagus goodness here, with a smooth pine nut cream. Delicious served with homemade vegetable chips. And try it with tomato, ginger and orange chutney. The trick here is to try to slice your bread as thinly as possible.

Makes 2 sandwiches (enough for 4 to share)


THE BITS

·        11½ ounces (325g) firm tofu, pressed, or tempeh, cut widthwise into 3 x ¾-inch (8 x 2cm) slices
·        1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
·        sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
·        2 tablespoons olive oil
·        6 scallions, trimmed and halved lengthwise
·        6 asparagus spears, halved lengthwise
·        1 teaspoon fennel seeds
·        2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
·        6 large leaves of rainbow chard, cut into ¾-inch (2cm) ribbons
·        ¼ cup (50ml) dry vermouth or dry sherry
·        a handful of basil leaves

For the pine nut cream
·        ¾ cup (100g) toasted pine nuts (hazelnuts would also be delicious)
·        4½ ounces (125g) silken tofu
·        1 small clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
·        ½ tablespoon lemon juice
·        a large pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve
·        6 thin slices of sourdough bread
·        olive oil, for brushing
·        1 large ripe tomato, thinly sliced


DO IT

To make the pine nut cream, put the pine nuts into a food processor with the rest of the ingredients and blitz until smooth and creamy. Check the seasoning and set aside.

Pat the pressed tofu dry. Season the flour with sea salt and cracked pepper and place on a plate. Dust the tofu slices with the seasoned flour – they have to be very dry to crisp up nicely.

Heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan on medium heat. Add the scallions and sear for 5 minutes, until tender. Remove and keep warm, then add the tofu slices in the center of the pan, arranging the asparagus around the edges. Fry the tofu and asparagus until nicely golden – this will only take 2 minutes on each side for both. The asparagus may need turning more than the tofu, but see how they get on. Remove everything from the pan and keep warm.

Add ½ tablespoon of oil to the same pan on medium heat and add the fennel seeds and garlic. Heat through for a minute, then drop in the chard. Stir and sauté for 3 minutes. Drizzle in the vermouth and let it steam for a moment, then add the basil leaves, season, and cover tightly with a lid. Turn the heat down to low and allow to steam for 5 minutes.

Brush your sourdough bread with olive oil and lightly toast on both sides. Time to build your triple-decker! Grab two pieces of toasted bread, spread them with a thick layer of the pine nut cream, then top each one with a couple of slices of tomato and two pieces each of tofu, asparagus and scallion. 

Top with a second slice of bread and repeat for the next layer, but this time spoon some of the chard and basil on top instead of the asparagus and onion. Press down firmly, then cut the sandwiches in half.

Credit line: Recipe from Peace & Parsnips: Adventurous Vegan Cooking For Everyone © Lee Watson, 2016. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.  theexperimentpublishing.com

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"baconish" + giveaway

Because I've been so busy with my upcoming book, Aquafaba (Amazon, B&N), it seems I've only had time to write reviews! It just seems to be the only break I've been allowing myself to get -- and as much as the kids like sweets, even they are getting a bit inundated with aquafaba creations since I've been done with the savory part of the book. 

Luckily, Leinana Two Moons offers just such a needed break with her Baconish (Amazon, B&N) cookbook, published by Vegan Heritage Press. 

As you might expect, the book is all about vegan bacon, in the form of tofu, seitan, coconut, tempeh, eggplant, carrot, etc. After introducing you to her bacon recipes, Leinana makes use of those bacon creations to include them in sweet and savory dishes of all kinds: beakfast, salad, soup, lunch, mains, sweets, ice cream, yeah, pretty much everything.

I make a really great bacon myself, so I had to see how Leinana stacks up in the bacon department, and naturally, if you have a bacon book, well, you should make bacon.

I chose the Seitan Bacon since that is one I haven't actually ever made, and, I think, have only had seitan bacon from Upton's company (really delicious, too, so Leinana had some big boots to fill.)

I made the seitan bacon as directed, but my bacon wasn't cooked by the designated time. So, if you make it, touch the gluten and if it is still very soft (raw) toss it back in for another 30 minutes or so. 

Once it was cooked, it was very tasty and my kid is still asking for it...of course, it is long gone.

We collectively decided to go for the Croque Monsieur sandwich, mostly because it looked like an interesting version, with a bechamel sauce on top, instead of more melted cheese.

The sandwich was very tasty, but a word of advice: don't add all the sauce to the sandwiches as it made them soggy and voided the hard work of toasting the sandwich in the first place. Also, place the sandwiches on a cooling rack on the baking sheet so the bottom doesn't steam up and get soggy, either.

With these few suggestions, the sandwich is really great. Oh! and if you have vegan brioche, that is the traditional bread to serve it on. (Hint: recipe in my upcoming Aquafaba!)

And then, I made my biggest mistake: I gave the book to my kids to pick something. Naturally, they chose the most time-consuming recipe in the book, Potato, Bacon and Onion Pierogi.

As Leinana point out, they are a lot of work, but they are worth it. Since the pierogies have onions in them, I decided to caramelize a little more as some topping. Very decadent and delicious.

Finally, I couldn't let you go without letting you have at the Famous Coconut Bacon BLT! Once you check out the recipe, I have more good news...giveaway! Comment below to enter to win a copy of Leinana's Baconish cookbook. Contest is open to US residents only and ends May 30, midnight. Good luck!

The Famous Coconut BLT
Makes 4 sandwiches

This recipe will make any vegan-bacon skeptic a true believer. Because Coconut Bacon will become less crisp the longer you store it, I recommend making it just ahead of preparing your sandwiches. (From Baconish © 2016 by Leinana Two Moons. Used with permission from Vegan Heritage Press.)

8 slices sandwich bread
Vegan mayonnaise
2 cups Coconut Bacon (recipe follows)
1 large ripe tomato, sliced
Lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry

Spread each slice of bread with a generous amount of mayonnaise. Top the mayonnaise with about 1/2 cup of the Coconut Bacon per sandwich, followed by slices of tomato and lettuce leaves. Top each sandwich with the remaining bread slices. Cut each sandwich with a serrated bread knife and serve immediately.


Coconut Bacon
Makes 2 1/2 cups

This recipe will make any vegan-bacon skeptic a true believer. It is my absolute favorite bacon to use for the best BLTs ever. (From Baconish © 2016 by Leinana Two Moons. Used with permission from Vegan Heritage Press.)

3 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon maple syrup
3 cups unsweetened large-flake coconut

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the tamari, liquid smoke, water, and maple syrup together in a large bowl. Stir in the coconut and mix well to ensure that the flakes are evenly coated.

Spread the coconut in an even layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 10 minutes, then stir. Bake another 8 minutes, keeping a very close eye on the coconut in the last few minutes. The coconut will go from almost done to completely burned very quickly. Remove from the oven when the coconut flakes on the outer edges of the pan are becoming a deep, dark brown, but not black.

Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack. The coconut will continue to crisp as it cools. Coconut bacon will keep 1 to 2 weeks in an airtight plastic container, but will become less crisp the longer you store it. 

"chickpea flour does it all" review

Today I am reviewing the hot new cookbook, Chickpea Flour Does It All (Amazon), by Lindsey S. Love.

This book uses chickpea flour in all its recipes, although not exclusively. For instance, baked goods might require other flours as well, besides chickpea flour, which is very high in protein and is very dense if baked with solely.

The book is well made, printed on high-quality paper with great photography throughout.

The book is arranged by season and month, which is nice if you live in her neck of the woods, but comes as a bit of hindrance when searching for a recipe since it can be located in any month; however, the index is very thoughtfully arranged.

The recipes in this book are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, but not egg-free. In fact, out of the 96 recipes, 49 are vegan, which means that, unfortunately, 46 require eggs (1 requires bee pollen).

Since chickens are among the most horribly treated animals exploited for their eggs, I am quite disappointed that the author does not make an attempt to offer a replacement for their use. The lack of any options to substitute eggs comes as a blow to the positivism that the book is otherwise full of.

Because so many recipes call for eggs, I have taken the time to mark the recipes that do. The ones with an asterisk (*) need at least one egg, the ones that have no asterisk are vegan. I'll leave it up to you to decide if this book is a good fit for you.

I am also sharing a recipe below, to give you an idea of how good the vegan recipes are in this book -- and they are! But Ms. Love should definitely take the leap to being a more compassionate recipe developer, because obviously she is talented, creative and a great cook.

WINTER

January

Sauteed Pear & Sage Pancakes with Almonds*
Breakfast Sweet Potato Cakes & Baby Arugula Bowl
Onion Poppy Seed Bread*
Za'atar Crackers
Sunchoke & Leek Soup
Ginger-Shiitake Miso Broth with Chickpea Tofu
Caraway Spatzle with Kale & Balsamic Onions*
Chocolate Banana Loaf*

February

Collard Wrap with Turmeric Scramble
Hearty Morning Glory Loaf*
Chickpea Waffle Avocado Toast*
Chipotle Queso Dip
Mini Polenta Pizzas with Caramelized Fennel & Garlic Paste
Flatbread with Harissa, Kale & Gaeta Olives
Acorn Squash Tart with Caramelized Onions & Collard Greens
Chocolate Olive Oil Cakes with Chocolate Glaze*

March

Fresh Ginger & Pomegranate Muffins*
Irish Soda Bread*
Chickpea Frites with Sriracha Ketchup
Chickpea Banh Mi
Spiced Black Bean Tostadas with Kiwi Salsa
Mung Bean Pancakes with Carrots, Scallions & Ginger*
Sweet Crepes with Kumquat Marmalade*
Almond Butter Brownies*

SPRING

April

Clumpy Granola Bowl with Stewed Rhubarb & Yogurt
Mango Poppy Seed Cornmeal Muffins*
Skillet Spinach & Chive Quiche*
Easy-Spring Veggie Bowl with Warm Hummus Drizzle
Chickpea Noodles with Miso-Kale Pesto*
Spring Onion & Lemongrass Stew with Cauliflower & Yams
Grilled Harissa Cauliflower with Quinoa Toss
Lemony Panelle Sandwich with Grilled Ramps & Balsamic Vinegar

May

Asparagus Chickpea Fritters
Lemon-Rhubarb Snacking Cake*
Alfredo with Watercress & Chives
Chickpea Polenta with Sauteed Spring Vegetables
Kalamata Chickpea Wrap with Pickled Leeks & Microgreens*
Herbed Sweet Pea Pockets
Vanilla Bean Lavender Cupcakes*
Strawberry Tart with Cardamom-Coconut Cream

June

Cherry Dutch Baby*
Baby Chickpea Quiches with New Potatoes & Chard
Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Macadamia Ricotta
Chickpea-Halloumi Salad with Crispy Quinoa
Chickpea Pizza with Asparagus & Pea Shoot Tangle
Grilled Zucchini Tacos with Chickpea-Chipotle Crema
Nutty Oat Ice Cream Sandwiches*
Strawberry S'mores

SUMMER

July

Lemon-Blueberry Coffee Cake*
Everyday Socca
Fried Heirloom Tomatoes
Kofta Wraps with Sumac Tahini*
Spiced Chickpea Pancakes with Charred Corn & Radish Salsa*
Grilled Summer Vegetables with Chickpea Flour Dukkah
Cookies-and-Cream Icebox Cake
Raspberry-Nectarine Pie with Lemon Basil

August

Savory Zucchini, Shiso, & Black Quinoa Muffins*
Stone Fruit Breakfast Crisp with Yogurt & Bee Pollen* for bee pollen
Ratatouille Tartlets
Sweet Corn & Cilantro Chowder
Eggplant Schnitzel Plate*
Grilled Vegetable Kebabs with Green Goddess Sauce
Blackberry-Lime Cobbler*
Sweet Flatbread with Grilled Berries

September

Goji Berry & Cacao Nib Granola Bars
Fig & Hazelnut Clafoutis*
Baked Squash Tempura with Hemp Dip*
Creamy Harvest Tabbouleh Salad
Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Chickpea Sour Cream
Quinoa Falafel with Romesco Sauce
Chewy Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pink Himalayan Salt*
A Late-Summer Birthday Cake*

FALL

October

French Toast with Grape Compote
Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies*
Chickpea Omelet with Shiitakes & Microgreens
Chickpea Tzatziki Dip
Baked Buttermilk Onion Rings
Savory Crepes with Beet Pate*
Spaghetti Squash Fritters*
Beetballs with Rosemary White Bean Cream*

November

Chai-Spice Swirl Breakfast Bread*
Apple Crumb Bars
Buttermilk Chickpea Corn Bread*
Herbed Sweet Potato Biscuits
Root Vegetable Crumble
Moroccan-Spiced Lentil & Pumpkin Burgers*
Chili-Roasted Pumpkin with Chickpea-Miso Gravy
Squash Doughnuts with Almond-Butter Glaze*

December

Spiced Scones with Crushed Cranberries*
Cacao Waffles*
Baby Kale Caesar Salad
Celery Root Latkes*
Roasted Kabocha Squash with Black Rice & Chickpea-Sesame Dressing
Matzo Ball Soup*
Jammy Almond Thumbprint Cookies*
Parsnip-Pear Bundt Cake*   

Photo by Lindsey S. Love

Chickpea Tzatziki Dip

Tzatziki is a Greek yogurt–based sauce and dip. It’s served cold and is flavored with cooling cucumbers, garlic, and lemon juice. Chickpea flour is used here to form that creamy base that tzatziki is known for without the yogurt and does a remarkable job of duplicating it entirely. This is best made the day before you plan to serve it, but can also be made the morning of; it needs time to cool and for the flavors to meld. This dip is great to serve alongside chickpea flatbread for dipping (see Flatbread with Harissa, Kale, and Gaeta Olives, page 39), olives, and a big salad.

Makes: roughly 1 1/2 cups // serves: 4 to 6 // prep time: 12 hours // cook time: 4 hours

• 1 medium cucumber, grated with a box grater
• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• ¼ cup (30 g) chickpea flour
• ¼ cup (45 g) raw cashews, soaked overnight and drained
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped dill

1. Place the grated cucumber in a fine-mesh sieve. Use your palm and push to squeeze out as much liquid as possible; set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, whisk together the water and flour until smooth. Turn heat to medium and continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 6 to 7 minutes; the mixture will resemble a roux or melted cheese. Remove from the heat.

3. Place the flour mixture, cashews, garlic, vinegar, oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, to taste, in a high-speed blender; blend for 1 minute, until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl; stir in the grated cucumber and dill. Let the tzatziki come to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

4. Remove from the refrigerator when ready to serve and give it a good stir.


Credit line: Recipe from Chickpea Flour Does It All: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegetarian Recipes for Every Taste and Season © Lindsey S. Love, 2016. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.  theexperimentpublishing.com 

aquafaba!

It has been a few weeks since my last post (check my last post for the winner of Vegan Under Pressure (Amazon)) and I’m excited to share what I’ve been working feverishly on.

Yes, it’s a new cookbook. But, it is more than just a cookbook. It is a cookbook about Aquafaba! While many people have already heard about it, still many more haven’t. If you know what Aquafaba is, skip the next paragraph, but if you are new to the Aquafaba world, the next paragraph is a bit of a recap.

Aquafaba is bean water. It is literally the bean water that chickpeas and other legumes are cooked in. A French opera singer, Joël Roessel, and an American software engineer, Goose Wohlt, each (independently) discovered the unique property of bean cooking water, and it is amazing! The water that the beans cook in have the unique property to be able to be whipped into foam that resembles in texture (and some other properties) of whipped egg whites. In other words, they discovered that Aquafaba, bean water, can act as a meringue! That’s what started something that is sure to become the phenomena of the century.

As soon as Aquafaba was discovered, a Facebook group was organized and now is the hub of all kinds of discoveries into all manners of different applications of Aquafaba. I encourage you to check out the group Vegan Meringue: Hits and Misses (but the group is way more than just meringue these days!)

Last March, when the news hit the webosphere, I had a first row seat and watched in wonder as meringue, fluff, cookies, and my contributions, Seitan Schnitzel and Chile Relleno, were shared for all to enjoy. Aquafaba has become a community effort and I am hoping my book will be a contribution to the wonder that is becoming a global phenomenon.

Late last year (after my book, Vegan Bowls, was published) I knew I had to think about what to work on next. I was continually amazed at the wonders that the members of Vegan Meringue Hits and Misses kept posting. I saw the hits and the misses and sometimes frustrations of members who just wanted tried and true recipes for Aquafaba… and that’s when a light bulb went off. I knew I had my next project.

When I set my mind to a project, I dig deep and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing with Aquafaba over the past half year. I swim in Aquafaba these days – actually, that’s not true – it’s chickpeas I’m swimming in; the Aquafaba gets used up as fast as I can make it in experiment after experiment.

I am very excited to be part of the Aquafaba movement and am completely honored that Goose Wohlt has agreed to write the foreword to my book!

I know that my cookbook will be just the tip of the iceberg that Aquafaba is, so my hope is that this book will be a wonderful beacon that will bring many more creative individuals to this ever evolving arena.

"vegan under pressure" + giveaway

Lori, you are the winner of the book! Please contact me!

The brand new cookbook, Vegan Under Pressure (Amazon, B&N), by Jill Nussinow, has been on my radar ever since its release was announced. I was very thrilled when I was asked to review this book, since I have a pressure cooker I adore and I love making food fast.

As wonderful as that idea is, it is also important to note that while cooking under pressure is pretty fast (sometimes as quick as a few minutes!), the bulk of the time of pressure cooking is taken up by the time the pot takes to come to pressure and then, after cooking, the time it takes to release pressure. Once you are comfortable with that, pressure cooking really is a wonderful way to get dinner or lunch on the table quickly. And because it is a pressure cooker, most of the time (though not all the time!), it is one-pot cooking.

Let's get into Jill's book.

Jill first covers the basics, just in case this is your first forage into pressure cooking, and then gets into the recipes, which include a chapter on spice blends and seasonings you can make at home. Then she dives into recipes for Grains, Beans, Vegetables, Soups, Main Courses, Toppers: Sauces Fillings and More, Appetizers and, finally, Desserts. Jill provides a wide range of recipes, as you can easily tell.

Now for some recipes.

The first recipe I stumbled on I knew I just had to make; I love kohlrabi and this one sounded really delicious: Mustard-Parsley Kohlrabi, in the Vegetable Chapter. As expected, it was completely wonderful - and easy to make. It's on page 145.

This recipe took 5 minutes at high pressure and comes dressed in a delicious no-oil dressing.

This next recipe was an easy choice for me because lately I have found myself with a surplus of chickpeas; Middle Eastern Chickpea and Tomato Soup, page 182. As with all the recipes, there is a cute icon at the top of the page that indicates how long it is cooked for and this one took 14 minutes at high pressure.

This soup is laced with saffron and a wonderful assortment of Middle Eastern spices. Another easy and tasty meal.

Finally, I made another bean recipe, this one a lima bean dish. Although the recipe calls for baby lima beans, I love large limas and since I had it on hand, this dish turned into a large lima bean dish. Of course, the recipe as written will be just as delicious as when I made it.

The fennel and artichokes in this dish, along with the lemon and mint, made this a unique and delicious meal. We used some whole-grain bread to sop up the wonderful stew.

But, hey, don't take my word for how delicious it was! Make it yourself! Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (hmco.com) is sharing the recipe for Greek Stewed Lima Beans below (coming soon). In the meantime, enter to win a copy of Vegan Under Pressure, again, courtesy of Houghton Mufflin Harcourt.

To enter to win, just leave a comment about your thoughts regarding pressure cooking or Jill herslef. For a second chance to win, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or via RSS Feed (via a Reader) and leave a SECOND comment. All the cute buttons for following are available on the top right of this blog, just below the photos of my books. Contest is open to US and Canada addresses and will end February 29 at midnight (it is a leap year, after all). Good luck!

Greek Stewed Lima Beans with Fennel and Artichokes
Serves 4

Fennel and artichokes make a great pair and this brothy, springtime stew brings out the best in all of its vegetables. If you think you don’t care for lima beans, this dish may change your mind. It did for me. If you really don’t care for them, make this with cannellini beans but add an extra minute to the pressure cooking time.

Serve with a salad and a hunk of hearty bread or spoon over cooked polenta for a Mediterranean feast. This dish benefits from using olive oil for sautéing and your best extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top, but you can still leave it out.

1 tablespoon olive oil, optional
1 cup diced leek, mostly the white part
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced carrot
½ teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
1 to 2 teaspoons dried oregano
1¼ cups vegetable stock
1 cup baby lima beans, soaked and drained
2 bay leaves
1 cup chopped fennel bulb, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup chopped fennel fronds
½ cup frozen (not thawed) or drained canned artichoke hearts in water
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon dried or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, optional


1. Heat a stovetop pressure cooker over medium heat or set an electric cooker to sauté; add the oil. Add the leek and sauté for 1 minute. Add the garlic, carrot, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon of the oregano. Sauté another minute, stirring often. Add a tablespoon of the stock if you get any sticking. Stir well.

2. Add the remaining stock, drained beans, bay leaves, fennel bulb and fronds, and artichoke hearts and stir. Lock on the lid. Bring to high pressure; cook for 6 minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally. Carefully remove the lid, tilting it away from you.

3. Taste a few beans to make sure they are cooked through. If not, lock the lid, return the cooker to high pressure, and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove the lid carefully.

4. Add the lemon zest and juice and the mint. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oregano if you want a highly flavored dish. Transfer to a bowl or platter. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Greek Stewed Lima Beans with Fennel, Artichokes, and Tomatoes:
If you love tomatoes and think that they would make this dish pop for you, feel free to add 1 cup diced tomatoes when you open the pressure cooker. Stir in, lock on the lid, and let sit for 2 minutes.


Text excerpted from Vegan Under Pressure, © 2015 by Jill Nussinow. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.