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Tag Archive: Vegan

My Favorite Store-Bought Sauces

Written on September 10, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

The food bloggers who cook everyday and love making time-consuming sauces and stews amaze me.

I’m nothing like that.

Sure, I like making desserts and even occasionally a dinner or two, but a lot of the time I have no problem phoning in meals. Cereal and yogurt for dinner is more than fine with me. But occasionally I like to pick up pre-made products at the store to help me make something easy and delicious that’s also a little bit more impressive than cereal.

Here are a few of the trusty, reliable, go-to sauces I’m sure to have in my pantry.

Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce

Trader Joe’s sells my favorite marinara sauce. I would happily serve this to guests and not say a thing. It’s delicious, cheap, and has all vegan and gluten-free ingredients. I usually have 3-4 in my pantry at any time because that’s how many I’ll go through in between shopping trips.

Of course it’s good with (corn) pasta and (soy) meatballs. I also like poaching eggs in the sauce and putting that over pasta or rice or quinoa. Just add some fresh herbs and you’ll forget it ever came from a jar.

Thai Kitchen Curry Paste

I really have no clue about Thai cooking and yet I love eating it; that’s where the Thai Kitchen curry paste comes in handy. All you need to do is mix it over a stove with coconut milk and it turns into a curry sauce—super simple. All the ingredients are vegan and gluten-free, too! I like it more than the bottled curry sauces because it lasts longer and the ingredients are simpler. Again, this is something I usually have in my pantry waiting to be used.

I always have tofu and frozen vegetables on hand and usually have some leftover brown rice in my refrigerator. When you mix them all together it’s a perfect combination.

San-J Stir-Fry Sauces

Like I mentioned, tofu, vegetables, and rice are big in my diet so I like anything that makes those tastier without lots of pressing and cooking. San-J stir-fry sauces are great because you just have to dice a block of tofu and sauté it in a pan in the sauce. It’s also hard to find sauces that use gluten-free soy sauce and I love the fact that they have a variety of flavors that are all gluten-free.

Perfect.

Have any favorite sauces I should try? By the way, none of these were given to me or offered compensation. I just really like the sauces.

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Gluten-Free Baked Falafel

Written on September 6, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

“Are falafels gluten-free?”

It was a good question. I had no idea. To be honest, falafels were one of those foods I’ve wanted to try for a while but I’ve never gotten while out because I’ve heard conflicting answers on whether it’s gluten-free or not.

Well, sadly they probably aren’t. Most of the recipes I’ve found online use flour as a binder, and if they’re fried in oil that’s also used for chicken fingers or other breaded items that would make them contaminated. The good thing I learned is that they’re incredibly easy to make gluten-free. I was considering making them with chickpea flour for a while and when I heard that reader Carolyn has had success with that, too, I felt good enough to try it out.

All you really need to make these are a food processor and an oven. I didn’t fry them mostly because that’s messy and I don’t like cleaning surfaces, you know? Also, they end up healthier this way—double plus.

I didn’t know what a falafel was supposed to taste like when I first ate a bite so I wasn’t sure how I’d know if it was a “good falafel”. Well, I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I think the fact that I went back to finish it off at 10pm when I’m usually not a savory person at all says something. I started off with this recipe and went from there. I would gladly make these again and maybe finish them off with a little oil in a pan to give them a brown crust.

Gluten-Free Baked Falafel

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 6 falafels):

1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 small clove of garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoons oregano, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coriander
3/4 teaspoon cumin
2-3 Tablespoons chickpea flour

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor, blend the onion, garlic and olive oil until the garlic and onion are minced.
Add in the chickpeas and lemon and blend until the chickpeas are pureed.
Add in the parsley, oregano, salt, cumin, and coriander and continue blending to incorporate them in.
Add the chickpea flour in a tablespoon at a time until the dough thickens enough that it can be shaped and won’t stick to your hands or a utensil.
Form 6 or 7 balls of dough and place them on a lined baking tray. You can flatten them into patties if desired.
Bake for 40 minutes until the outside starts to brown turning them halfway through.
Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Another good question: Is falafel the singular or the plural? or both?

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Copycat Chocolate Hazelnut Larabars

Written on September 2, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

One of my most popular recipes is the raw/vegan chocolate cake I made last Summer, and every time someone new comments on the post or makes it for themselves and blogs their own mouth-watering photos(I’m looking at you, Texanerin) it makes me want it again.

Well, cake every week is a bit much, even if it’s raw and vegan. But as soon as I finished eating my chocolate chip peanut butter “Larabars” I was thinking of what flavor I could make next, and chocolate hazelnut seemed like the perfect answer.

These are definitely healthy enough to have every day but also can easily satisfy a candy craving. You can use raw or roasted hazelnuts, skin on or off. Roasted will definitely have a nuttier and stronger flavor. To make them truly raw, use cacao nibs in place of the chocolate chips.

Copycat Chocolate Hazelnut Larabars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 7 bars):

8oz(about 2 cups) pitted dates
3/4 cup hazelnuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Method:

In a food processor, blend the dates until they clump together and form a sticky dough ball.
Add the hazelnuts and salt into the food processor and pulse until the nuts are broken into a coarse flour.
Transfer all the contents of the food processor into a large bowl with the chocolate chips and massage by hand until the hazelnut pieces and chocolate chips are completely mixed into the dates.
Form the dough into equal-sized bars, squares, or balls. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

OK, it’s no raw chocolate cake with avocado buttercream, but it will definitely satisfy a late-night sweet tooth.

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Easy Kahlua Truffles

Written on August 27, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I hate to admit it but even after years of cooking long, detailed ingredient lists and steps still scare me away from a recipe. If there’s a way to do something easier, I’ll take it. These truffles are about as easy as they come; they’re JUST chocolate, butter, and Kahlua. How easy is that?(Shoot, now I probably owe Ina Garten royalties)

The hardest part about these is rolling them in cocoa powder, which isn’t hard at all; you just have to pay attention to the chocolate and and keep coating it until it can’t take in any more cocoa. When you’re done you get a nice, rich center and a mess-free surface.

When making anything that involves melting chocolate, it’s better to use a baking chocolate rather than chocolate chips. You can get high-quality baking chocolate near the cheese section in some grocery stores or use Baker’s brand chocolate. Unlike chocolate chips, this will melt easily and smoothly.

Easy Kahlua Truffles

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 14 truffles):

8oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
3 Tablespoons Kahlua liquor
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Method:

Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave or over a double boiler.
Mix the Kahlua into the chocolate and butter and beat until smooth and silky.
Let the chocolate cool in a refrigerator until it’s a semi-soft solid. It shouldn’t be as hard as a rock, but it shouldn’t stick to your hand when you handle it.
Pour about 1/2 cup of cocoa powder onto a flat plate.
With a melon baller, form small balls of chocolate and drop them onto the plate of cocoa powder, rolling them around. Alternatively, you can take small amounts of chocolate, roll it into a ball in between your hands and drop it into the cocoa powder.
Roll the truffle around in the cocoa powder until the outside is entirely coated and place it on a separate, clean plate. Repeat with all of the chocolate.
When the truffles have set and hardened, shake off any excess cocoa powder and store them in a sealed container keeping the truffles at room temperature.

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Salt Roasted Beets

Written on August 22, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in How To, Side Dish

Salt is something that a lot of people don’t understand; too much can make anything a disaster, but just a touch on fruits and vegetables always helps to make them taste sweeter. When you eat something with natural sugars that’s been seasoned right, it touches more taste sensations on your tongue and you’ll enjoy it more.

Salt roasting is a technique I learned last Summer when I was interning in a restaurant. It was something that the lunch crew trusted that I couldn’t possibly screw up so I did it quite a bit whenever we got more beets in. Since then I’ve done it at home whenever I have the chance; you really can’t screw it up! Beyond the ease, I swear it makes the vegetables taste like candy.

This may seem like it’d be a hassle to clean up after but it’s really not. Just put the pan with the burnt salt under the sink and run hot water on it until the salt dissolves.

Salt Roasted Beets

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1-2 hours

3/4 cup coarse grain salt
Beets, tops trimmed and peel on

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Lay the salt out in a single layer on a roasting tray.
Wash the outside of the beets. If your beets are large you can cut them into quarters or leave them whole. The larger they are, the longer they’ll take to cook.
Lay the beats on top of the salt and place them in the oven.
Roast for 1-2 hours until you can poke a fork through the skin with some ease.
Remove from the oven and begin peeling off the skin while still hot. You may want to use gloves or a towel to keep the beets from burning your hands. Brush off any remaining salt on the outside.
Serve hot or chilled.

What do you do with your beets? Well they make a good salad, for one, especially if you keep those beet greens. Vegetables roasted in salt don’t need any further seasoning so you can just pop them in your mouth.

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Coconut Almond Granola

Written on August 17, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Breakfast

I’m not sure how I’d live if I were allergic to nuts. Peanuts, coconuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios—all of them; they’ve become a staple in my diet without gluten or meat. And don’t even get me started on all of the amazing things you can bake with almond flour…

Thankfully, I’m not, so I can go on making granola chockfull of all sorts of nuts packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats. I’m not one to always use coconut oil(mostly because of the price), but I love how aromatic it is when I do. You can smell all the flavors in this granola as it bakes, from the earthy cinnamon and vanilla to the fruity coconut.

Toasting the nuts adds a much more vibrant flavor to them. The easiest way to do this is in a large frying pan over low to medium heat. It’s easier and more consistent than throwing the nuts into the oven; just be sure to pay close attention to them as they will burn quickly.

Coconut Almond Granola

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 3 cups):

2 1/4 cups gluten-free oats
1/3 cup liquid sweetener
2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup chocolate chips(optional)
1/4 cup dried cherries(optional)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the oats, sweetener, coconut oil, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl.
Lay the oats out in a 1/2-inch thick layer on a lined baking tray.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, breaking up the oats every 10 minutes or so, until they’re toasted and golden. Remove from the oven and let cool.
While the granola is baking, toast the coconut and almonds together in a large frying pan. Make sure to stop once they’re aromatic and golden and take care not to burn them.
Toss the toasted coconut and almonds in with the granola. Toss in the cherries and chocolate chips as well if using, but make sure that the granola and nuts are completely cool before adding in the chocolate chips or else they’ll melt on touch.
Store in an air-tight container for up to 2-3 weeks

I said that the cherries and chocolate chips were optional but… they’re really not optional; you’re only cheating yourself if you leave them out. Between the rich toasted nuts and sweet fruit and chocolate, I’m always going back for more.

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Vanilla Rosemary Potatoes

Written on August 15, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

A few weeks ago a good friend of mine asked me to teach her how to cook. I can’t think of any other time I’ve ever taught someone to cook; I don’t think I’m very good at it. When I write a blog post I just say what I did. But when I’m in the kitchen, I don’t usually follow a recipe; I just feel my way around and do what I think I should do and if it doesn’t work out—well, that’s what the garbage can is for.

The hardest part was picking what to make. We ended up settling on Mediterranean chicken, a pretty basic salad, sautéed broccoli, and this potato recipe. I’d seen vanilla used with savory roasted vegetables on blogs before and had been wanting to try it. The idea isn’t to have the potatoes become sweet like candy but rather gain a subtle flavor that’s familiar but hard to pin down.

We learned three things that night:

1. A little sugar in any recipe is a good thing. I love to add just a tablespoon of sugar to marinades or dressings, sauces and vegetables to help bring out the natural sugars.

2. I make really good chicken for a vegetarian(or so I’m told).

3. Vanilla rosemary potatoes are shockingly delicious. There were some skeptics who thought vanilla on vegetables couldn’t be good, but by the end of the night everyone was converted.

Vanilla Rosemary Potatoes

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4-6 servings):

5-6 medium Russet potatoes, cut and cubed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss all of the ingredients together until the potatoes are covered in oil.
Lay the potatoes out in a single layer on a baking tray.
Bake for 60 minutes shaking the pan halfway through.
Remove from the oven and serve hot.

This is definitely more of a Fall and Winter dish than it is Summery, so you might want to bookmark it and hold onto it until October. Then again, potatoes are always plentiful and cheap so what’s not to love even in the Summer time?

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Copycat Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

Written on August 13, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

When you’re a food blogger, you end up having some pretty weird “snacks”. Leftover cheesecake in the afternoon? Sure. Chocolate granola for lunch and dinner some times. Anything goes.

That’s all great and delicious but there are times when I wish I ate a little bit healthier. Of course, the answer’s simple; if you want to eat healthy you need to buy and make healthy meals and snacks. So to start I made one of my favorites: peanut butter chocolate chip larabars.

Most pre-portioned snacks at the grocery store are overpriced; they’re even pricier if you get them from kiosks or snack stands. By making your own, you control the costs and quality of the ingredients. Larabars have pretty clean and simple ingredients as is, but by buying dates and using other ingredients I already had I was able to bring the cost down.

You could make your own and use almonds instead of peanuts to adapt these for someone with a peanut allergy.

Copycat Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 6 bars):

8oz pitted dates
1/2 cup peanuts
2 Tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Combine the dates and peanuts in a food processor and blend on high until the ingredients start to form a paste.
Add in the peanut butter and salt and continue blending until a dough begins to form.
Lastly, add in the chocolate chips and pulse a few times.
Line a loaf or baking pan with plastic wrap.
Drop the dough on top of the plastic wrap and press the dough into a square or rectangle about 3/4-inch thick.
Cut into bars or squares. Wrap individually and refrigerate until ready to eat.

I left mine in squares. You could make bars or balls or really any shape you could think of with these.

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Honey Ginger Ice Cream

Written on August 10, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I can’t believe it took me almost a month and a half this Summer to break out my ice cream maker. Even though it doesn’t get as much use as most of my other kitchen appliances, it’s definitely my favorite. How can you not love anything that takes milk and spits out ice cream?

There’s a great ice cream parlor near the house I stay at in Maine that makes their own fun flavors. I made it there once this Summer before being reminded that full-fat dairy ice cream really doesn’t agree with me. Womp womp. I hear they have great ginger ice cream so I thought I’d make my own.

This ice cream has fresh and dried ginger for a strong punch of flavor. I always think of ginger and honey going together in recipes so it seemed like a good flavor to introduce here. If you’re vegan or don’t want to include it, you can easily swap it out for another 1/4 cup of sweetener.

Honey Ginger Ice Cream

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 6-8 servings):

1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup sugar
2 15oz cans of coconut milk
2 Tablespoons shaved fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon ginger powder

Method:

In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.
Move the freshly frozen ice cream into an airtight container and let it harden in the freezer for a couple of hours to chill completely.
Before serving, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften.

For an extra touch of flavor you can add some lemon zest into the base; I was a little worried that the three together might be overwhelming and hard to distinguish but now I’m dying to try it.

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Cherry Basil Quinoa

Written on July 30, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

One cherry recipe and now another; if you can’t tell I bought a couple pounds of cherries last weekend and had to find ways to eat them. Now that they’re gone, I’m tempted to get more and see what comes out of it.

The great thing about fruits in the Summer is that you don’t really need to do anything to them. I thought about roasting the cherries before adding them in with quinoa(which you certainly can do), but the light and tangy flavors of fresh cherries mixed with herbs and seasoning didn’t need anything more.

Quinoa’s one of my favorite grains and a pantry-staple in my house. If you’re out of quinoa and still want to try this, you could use couscous or a short-grain rice like Arborio. You could roast the cherries before mixing them in for a different flavor, but when they’re this fresh I think they’re even better as is.

Cherry Basil Quinoa

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4-6 servings):

1 1/2 cups dry quinoa, washed and rinsed
3 cups water*
3/4 cup pitted and halved cherries
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Small handful of basil, roughly chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

*This is the average amount of water I use for cooking quinoa. If you have a different method or the brand you use recommends more or less, by all means you can adjust this.

Method:

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a pot and put on the lid.
Turn the burner off and leave the quinoa undisturbed for 15-20 minutes until the water is entirely absorbed.
Toss in the cherries, olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper and mix. Transfer from a pot to a serving dish.
Serve hot or cold. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Who knew simple could be so good? You can add some beans into the mix or add crushed pistachios or almonds on top to make this more of an entrée.

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