Sweet potato and black bean sauce
So, I've known for a while that sweet potatoes and black beans are a thing in the veg*n community, but I just never found a recipe that grabbed me.
Well, today, I'm down to bare bones pantry supplies plus a pureed chili-spiced black bean soup I whipped up the other day. I decided to spoon it over some steamed sweet potato chunks ,and it turned out great! I started out with my own Dimo's Mexican spice mix plus some black beans and onion and that's it:
2 cups of dried black beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbs of Dimo's Mexican spice mix.
Soak the beans overnight, drain, rinse, and put in a pot with enough water to cover to your second knuckle. In another pan, dry saute the onion (add a splash of water when things start to stick) until translucent. Add the spice mix and the garlic and saute till the onion is coated with the spices. Toss into the pot with the beans, and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour or so or until the beans are very soft. Puree with a stick blender, or else in a stand blender in batches.
Peel and cut a 1 lb sweet potato into medium sized chunks and put in a steamer basket and steam till tender. Transfer to a bowl, or soup plate, and pour the soup over the sweet potato chunks and chow down!
Monday, February 25, 2019
Friday, February 22, 2019
Barley Vegetable Soup
Here's a very basic (and of course, very cheap) vegetable soup. You can use whatever vegetables you can get on sale but I usually stick with the same ones, sale or not; they're usually cheap enough they won't break the bank at any rate.
I usually go with one extravagance when I make brothy soup: prepared veggie broth. The brand I get is available at Aldi's for 1.89 per 1 qt carton and I use 2, and this is the most expensive ingredient at 3.80. The reason I go with prepped broth is consistency. For just about everything else I usually just use my broth made from veg prep scraps, recipe available here. The scrap version can be very oniony, or carroty, or celery-y, depending on what trimmings I have in the freezer, so for brothy soups, I go with prepared. The scraps from the prep for this soup will also go into the freezer for future stock, unlike my Cucalenco soup. Also I save the salting of the soup for when it's done. Usually salt will lose some of its "presence" when you add it at the beginning, so when you save it for the end, you don't have to use quite as much to the get the same saltiness.
1 cup barley, hull-less is preferred but pearled or scotch (better) is fine if that's all you can get..
2 quarts of commercial vegetable broth (3.60)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
3 small or 2 medium carrots, sliced in 1/4 inch slices; any slices bigger than a nickel I usually cut in half moons. (0.25)
1 medium yellow or white onion, diced. ).25)
2 cloves minced garlic (.10)
2 ribs of celery diced. (.25)
1/2 to 1 pound of fresh green beans, topped and tailed and snapped into 2 inch pieces (You can use a bag of frozen if you wish to save money) (0.99)
1 medium large turnip, cut in small dice (0.90)
1/2 small to medium head of cabbage, chopped very thin.
1 can of petite cut diced tomatoes, fire-roasted if you can get them. The soup won't be ruined if you can't but in that case, maybe add a drop or two of liquid smoke.
1 teaspoon each of thyme, savory, basil, and dill.
3/4 cup of finely diced seitan (optional if you have concerns about protein content; if you can't get seitan, use a cup of pureed white, pinto, or black beans)
Salt and pepper to taste.
First things first: Rinse the barley and place it in a medium saucepan and add 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer till tender and kind of fluffy looking (about a half hour). You'll probably have to skim some "scum" from the surface (don't worry; it's just some surface starch)
In the meantime, put the onions, carrot, celery, and green beans (if using fresh) into a pot (or your Instant Pot) and dry saute over medium heat (hit the saute button on the I-Pot), till the onions are translucent. Add a splash of water any time things start to stick. Add the garlic and continue to saute for another minute. Add in the broth, soy sauce, turnip, cabbage, diced tomatoes, the barley (with it's cooking water) and the herbs except the dill (and the green beans if using frozen). At this point add the seitan or or pureed beans if using. On the stove-top, bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer until all the vegetables are soft to your liking. If you wish, you may add another diced rib of celery about 5 minutes before you take the soup off the heat, if you like some crunch. On the I-Pot, hit the "manual/pressure cook" button and set for 12 minutes and NPR for 5 minutes (while in warm-up mode) and then quick release the rest.
Add the dill and season to your liking with salt and pepper, and maybe some hot sauce. I usually add a pinch of turmeric at this point as well, both for a little color and the anti-inflammatory properties of the turmeric.
If you're following the McDougall Starch Solution program (or even if you're not!), feel free to add a cup of frozen corn, frozen peas, or a diced potato.
The whole recipe is about 9 dollars; however 40% of that 9 dollars is the commercial broth. If you make your own broth from veggie scraps, or even use one of those bouillon pastes that come in a jar, it's probably around 6.50 or 7 dollars for the pot, which brings the cost down to under a dollar per serving.
Here's a very basic (and of course, very cheap) vegetable soup. You can use whatever vegetables you can get on sale but I usually stick with the same ones, sale or not; they're usually cheap enough they won't break the bank at any rate.
I usually go with one extravagance when I make brothy soup: prepared veggie broth. The brand I get is available at Aldi's for 1.89 per 1 qt carton and I use 2, and this is the most expensive ingredient at 3.80. The reason I go with prepped broth is consistency. For just about everything else I usually just use my broth made from veg prep scraps, recipe available here. The scrap version can be very oniony, or carroty, or celery-y, depending on what trimmings I have in the freezer, so for brothy soups, I go with prepared. The scraps from the prep for this soup will also go into the freezer for future stock, unlike my Cucalenco soup. Also I save the salting of the soup for when it's done. Usually salt will lose some of its "presence" when you add it at the beginning, so when you save it for the end, you don't have to use quite as much to the get the same saltiness.
1 cup barley, hull-less is preferred but pearled or scotch (better) is fine if that's all you can get..
2 quarts of commercial vegetable broth (3.60)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
3 small or 2 medium carrots, sliced in 1/4 inch slices; any slices bigger than a nickel I usually cut in half moons. (0.25)
1 medium yellow or white onion, diced. ).25)
2 cloves minced garlic (.10)
2 ribs of celery diced. (.25)
1/2 to 1 pound of fresh green beans, topped and tailed and snapped into 2 inch pieces (You can use a bag of frozen if you wish to save money) (0.99)
1 medium large turnip, cut in small dice (0.90)
1/2 small to medium head of cabbage, chopped very thin.
1 can of petite cut diced tomatoes, fire-roasted if you can get them. The soup won't be ruined if you can't but in that case, maybe add a drop or two of liquid smoke.
1 teaspoon each of thyme, savory, basil, and dill.
3/4 cup of finely diced seitan (optional if you have concerns about protein content; if you can't get seitan, use a cup of pureed white, pinto, or black beans)
Salt and pepper to taste.
First things first: Rinse the barley and place it in a medium saucepan and add 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer till tender and kind of fluffy looking (about a half hour). You'll probably have to skim some "scum" from the surface (don't worry; it's just some surface starch)
In the meantime, put the onions, carrot, celery, and green beans (if using fresh) into a pot (or your Instant Pot) and dry saute over medium heat (hit the saute button on the I-Pot), till the onions are translucent. Add a splash of water any time things start to stick. Add the garlic and continue to saute for another minute. Add in the broth, soy sauce, turnip, cabbage, diced tomatoes, the barley (with it's cooking water) and the herbs except the dill (and the green beans if using frozen). At this point add the seitan or or pureed beans if using. On the stove-top, bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer until all the vegetables are soft to your liking. If you wish, you may add another diced rib of celery about 5 minutes before you take the soup off the heat, if you like some crunch. On the I-Pot, hit the "manual/pressure cook" button and set for 12 minutes and NPR for 5 minutes (while in warm-up mode) and then quick release the rest.
Add the dill and season to your liking with salt and pepper, and maybe some hot sauce. I usually add a pinch of turmeric at this point as well, both for a little color and the anti-inflammatory properties of the turmeric.
If you're following the McDougall Starch Solution program (or even if you're not!), feel free to add a cup of frozen corn, frozen peas, or a diced potato.
The whole recipe is about 9 dollars; however 40% of that 9 dollars is the commercial broth. If you make your own broth from veggie scraps, or even use one of those bouillon pastes that come in a jar, it's probably around 6.50 or 7 dollars for the pot, which brings the cost down to under a dollar per serving.
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Vegan Douglas Chili
I can't believe I have yet to post my famous chili recipe! So, here it is.
Years ago we had a chili cook-off in my office and I brought the meat version of this chili and one of my co-workers called it "The Douglas Chili." Every time we had a potluck after that, he'd ask me if I'd bring it.
First thing you have to do is make Dimo's Mexican spice mix:
The amounts are huge, but it makes a batch that will do for multiple pots of chile.
8 tablespoons of chipotle chili powder (or how much ever your container has plus regular chili powder to make up 8 tablespoons) (1 T for single recipe)
4 tablespoons cumin (1/2 T for single recipe)
4 teaspoons of coriander (1/2 tsp for single recipe)
6 teaspoons of cocoa (cocoa, NOT chocolate milk powder!) (1/2 tsp for single recipe
2 teaspoons of cinnamon. (1/4 tsp for single recipe)
Just put it all in a jar and shake well till everything is blended. This mix is also good as a seasoning for plain black or pinto beans (If you can't find chipotle chili powder, or it's too expensive for you, use regular and add some liquid smoke at the end, say, 1/4 teaspoon)
Now for the chili:
3/4 cup dried French green or black lentils if you can find them. Otherwise brown are fine.
1 large (like between softball and baseball size) onion or 2 small to medium onions, diced
1.5 Tablespoons of Dimo's Mexican spice mix
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can low sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
1 15 oz can white hominy
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 7 oz can of La Costeña Mexican salsa (just leave it out if you can't find it; you can add some chopped jalapenos plain)
1/4 cup dry red lentils
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with chilis (I try to get the Rotel brand cilantro and lime flavor)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
Put the green or black lentils in a sauce pan with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer till tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. If using brown lentils, just add them in, dry, with the other beans.
Meanwhile, place diced onion in a pot, and dry saute till soft and translucent, adding a splash of water or vegetable broth when things start to stick.
Add spice mix and the garlic and saute until onions are coated with the spice mix, about a minute.
Add all the beans, hominy, tomato sauce, salsa, and both types of lentils (with the cooking water if using green or black ones)
Puree the diced tomatoes with the peanut butter and add to the pot.
Add enough water to thin out to your liking and simmer until the hominy turns orange.
Alternative cooking methods:
After sauteeing the onions and pureeing the diced tomatoes and peanut butter, toss everything into the slow cooker and cook on low till the hominy turns orange, usually at least 6 hours. This method is good if you're going to be out all day and you don't want to have to do anything when you get home but ladle up and eat :).
If you're using an Instant Pot, do the onion/garlic sautee and then add everything else and cook at (high) pressure for 10 minutes (it will actually take more than 10 before you can open the pot, what with heating up and dissipating the pressure). NPR for 10 minutes then quick release the rest.
It goes without saying, that this goes excellent with corn bread. It can also be stretched by serving with elbow macaroni/mac-n-cheese for chili mac (about half the amount of chili as in a single serving plus the same amount of macaroni; just don't mix them until serving time).
Serves 8 with 13g protein and 21g fiber. (the meat version gains 1.5g protein but loses 7.3g fiber)
I can't believe I have yet to post my famous chili recipe! So, here it is.
Years ago we had a chili cook-off in my office and I brought the meat version of this chili and one of my co-workers called it "The Douglas Chili." Every time we had a potluck after that, he'd ask me if I'd bring it.
First thing you have to do is make Dimo's Mexican spice mix:
The amounts are huge, but it makes a batch that will do for multiple pots of chile.
8 tablespoons of chipotle chili powder (or how much ever your container has plus regular chili powder to make up 8 tablespoons) (1 T for single recipe)
4 tablespoons cumin (1/2 T for single recipe)
4 teaspoons of coriander (1/2 tsp for single recipe)
6 teaspoons of cocoa (cocoa, NOT chocolate milk powder!) (1/2 tsp for single recipe
2 teaspoons of cinnamon. (1/4 tsp for single recipe)
Just put it all in a jar and shake well till everything is blended. This mix is also good as a seasoning for plain black or pinto beans (If you can't find chipotle chili powder, or it's too expensive for you, use regular and add some liquid smoke at the end, say, 1/4 teaspoon)
Now for the chili:
3/4 cup dried French green or black lentils if you can find them. Otherwise brown are fine.
1 large (like between softball and baseball size) onion or 2 small to medium onions, diced
1.5 Tablespoons of Dimo's Mexican spice mix
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can low sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
1 15 oz can white hominy
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 7 oz can of La Costeña Mexican salsa (just leave it out if you can't find it; you can add some chopped jalapenos plain)
1/4 cup dry red lentils
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with chilis (I try to get the Rotel brand cilantro and lime flavor)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
Put the green or black lentils in a sauce pan with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer till tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. If using brown lentils, just add them in, dry, with the other beans.
Meanwhile, place diced onion in a pot, and dry saute till soft and translucent, adding a splash of water or vegetable broth when things start to stick.
Add spice mix and the garlic and saute until onions are coated with the spice mix, about a minute.
Add all the beans, hominy, tomato sauce, salsa, and both types of lentils (with the cooking water if using green or black ones)
Puree the diced tomatoes with the peanut butter and add to the pot.
Add enough water to thin out to your liking and simmer until the hominy turns orange.
Alternative cooking methods:
After sauteeing the onions and pureeing the diced tomatoes and peanut butter, toss everything into the slow cooker and cook on low till the hominy turns orange, usually at least 6 hours. This method is good if you're going to be out all day and you don't want to have to do anything when you get home but ladle up and eat :).
If you're using an Instant Pot, do the onion/garlic sautee and then add everything else and cook at (high) pressure for 10 minutes (it will actually take more than 10 before you can open the pot, what with heating up and dissipating the pressure). NPR for 10 minutes then quick release the rest.
It goes without saying, that this goes excellent with corn bread. It can also be stretched by serving with elbow macaroni/mac-n-cheese for chili mac (about half the amount of chili as in a single serving plus the same amount of macaroni; just don't mix them until serving time).
Serves 8 with 13g protein and 21g fiber. (the meat version gains 1.5g protein but loses 7.3g fiber)
Monday, February 4, 2019
Smoothies
I've never really been a big fan of the smoothie. I have tried various recipes, but for a long time, the only ones I could find were made with either banana or yogurt. I didn't like the tang of the yogurt smoothies and the banana ones.....well, the banana came screaming through any other taste that was in the smoothie and bananas are not my favorite thing to eat in the first place.
But, oh, Eureka and Hallelujah! I found one that ends up nice and thick with no bananas or yogurt!! The only drawback was that it called for a "handful" of spinach. Blech! Now, smoothie enthusiast friends of mine always say the same thing: "you can't taste it!" All I can assume is that their taste buds are dead, because they say the same thing about the banana, and, as I've said above, I can indeed taste it! So, I just left out the spinach. Now, In the interests of nutrition, in the future, I may slowly introduce spinach into my smoothie, like a couple leaves every day, until the point that I can taste it. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Anyway, here is the recipe (I tweaked a recipe I found here):
1.5 cups unsweetened plant milk (can contain vanilla or not)
1.25 cups frozen mixed berries (I used 1 cup raspberries and blackberries, and the quarter cup blueberries; you can mix-n-match to your taste but they have to be frozen)
1/2 cup of quick cooking rolled oats (these are one processing step further than old fashioned oats, still whole grain,though).
1 tablespoon of cashew or almond butter (you can use peanut butter for a little more "earthy" taste)
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1/4 t cinnamon
up to 4 ice cubes (optional; the less you use, the thicker the end result)
Just chuck everything in the blender in the order given, and blend until smooth.
As I said above, I used a 4:1 ratio of blackberries/raspberries to blueberries, but a local grocery chain has a cherry berry blend I want to try, and I may just do all blackberries or all cherries one of these times I'll be doing some experimenting. Also, since there's no yogurt, I may try the pumpkin spice smoothie again and if it's any less gag-inducing than the last time I tried it, that'll be another taste in my smoothie repertoire, lol.
As for nutrition, it's a bit of a calorie bomb at around 440 and 14.7 g of fat but that's still only 30% of the calories from fat, and if the rest of your day has no more than 5 grams of fat you'll still be under the 10% recommended by the McDougall plan. Good news is that it's got 13.5 grams of protein and 15.5 grams of fiber. Pretty good for what amounts to a milkshake for breakfast!
I've never really been a big fan of the smoothie. I have tried various recipes, but for a long time, the only ones I could find were made with either banana or yogurt. I didn't like the tang of the yogurt smoothies and the banana ones.....well, the banana came screaming through any other taste that was in the smoothie and bananas are not my favorite thing to eat in the first place.
But, oh, Eureka and Hallelujah! I found one that ends up nice and thick with no bananas or yogurt!! The only drawback was that it called for a "handful" of spinach. Blech! Now, smoothie enthusiast friends of mine always say the same thing: "you can't taste it!" All I can assume is that their taste buds are dead, because they say the same thing about the banana, and, as I've said above, I can indeed taste it! So, I just left out the spinach. Now, In the interests of nutrition, in the future, I may slowly introduce spinach into my smoothie, like a couple leaves every day, until the point that I can taste it. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Anyway, here is the recipe (I tweaked a recipe I found here):
1.5 cups unsweetened plant milk (can contain vanilla or not)
1.25 cups frozen mixed berries (I used 1 cup raspberries and blackberries, and the quarter cup blueberries; you can mix-n-match to your taste but they have to be frozen)
1/2 cup of quick cooking rolled oats (these are one processing step further than old fashioned oats, still whole grain,though).
1 tablespoon of cashew or almond butter (you can use peanut butter for a little more "earthy" taste)
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1/4 t cinnamon
up to 4 ice cubes (optional; the less you use, the thicker the end result)
Just chuck everything in the blender in the order given, and blend until smooth.
As I said above, I used a 4:1 ratio of blackberries/raspberries to blueberries, but a local grocery chain has a cherry berry blend I want to try, and I may just do all blackberries or all cherries one of these times I'll be doing some experimenting. Also, since there's no yogurt, I may try the pumpkin spice smoothie again and if it's any less gag-inducing than the last time I tried it, that'll be another taste in my smoothie repertoire, lol.
As for nutrition, it's a bit of a calorie bomb at around 440 and 14.7 g of fat but that's still only 30% of the calories from fat, and if the rest of your day has no more than 5 grams of fat you'll still be under the 10% recommended by the McDougall plan. Good news is that it's got 13.5 grams of protein and 15.5 grams of fiber. Pretty good for what amounts to a milkshake for breakfast!
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