Way back in 2007 Kala and I entered the Vegetarian Times magazine reader recipe contest.  My entry was a Thai Chik’N Pizza, oh and it won 3rd place.  Wednesday night we revisited the recipe as we do from time to time.  I stuck fairly close to the published recipe only substituting some ketchup (2 tsp) and a little lemon juice (1/2 tsp) for the tamarind paste and instead of Morning Star Farms Chik’N strips we  used our beloved mock duck, because well mock duck is just tastier. The results were super tasty, and maybe better than the original.

–Shane

Photos by Kala

I have been making my lentil soup for quite a few years, there is no recipe exactly, it’s sort of a throw everything in a pot and adjust it as you go. It’s a favorite of mine when I am sick or it’s bitterly cold out.

The ingredient list runs down as follows:

• about a cup and a half to 2 cups of brown/green lentils
• 1 potato diced
• 1 large carrot diced
• 1 lemon
• a healthy amount of spinach cut chiffonade style
• 1 onion chopped and a bunch of garlic (4-5 cloves) minced that have been sauteed until onion soft and translucent
• 1 can of diced tomato (drained)
• 1 can of tomato paste,
• 1  bullion cube
• About 6 cups of water
• Any spices and herbs you see fit, I usually add some curry powder, basil, oregano, cayenne  pepper, and lately smoked paprika, salt and pepper, this time around I added some fenugreek too.

Bring to a boil then simmer until everything is cooked, usually around an hour but your time may differ. The final step is in the last 30 minutes – wash and cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the soup pot, then drop the  lemon in as well.  At ten minutes left add the spinach.  Its great with corn bread or  a crusty french bread.

–Shane

Photos by Kala

For lunch the other day, I whipped up a quick batch of spicy BBQ Mock Duck.  It’s super easy to make and really yummy, I even made it for our wedding (although it was much much less spicy than when I make it for myself).  I usually have it in a whole wheat tortilla, but it would be just as good on a bun.  We had some leftover Ranch Dip from a recipe from Vegan Lunch Box so that was served on the side.  By the way, the ranch dip was good once we added a bunch of stuff to it but it really tasted nothing like ranch.  Anywho, recipe:

BBQ Mock Duck

• 1 can mock duck, drained, rinsed, and chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• chipotles in adobo sauce (add them in one at a time until you get the heat level desired)
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• whole wheat tortilla or bun

1. Saute the onion for a few minutes until they start to soften. 
2. While the onion is cooking, add all the other ingredients except the mock duck to a food processor or blender.  Process until smooth. 
3. Add the mock duck to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the sauce and cook for about 5 minutes. 
4. Serve on a warmed tortilla or toasted bun.

-Kala

I’ve been totally into eating raw carrots lately so I wanted to experiment with some different veggie friendly dips.  Today I came up with something very simple and delicious that’s also really healthy!

Spicy White Bean Dip

Ingredients

• 1 – 16 oz can of navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed
• 1 jalapeno, stemmed (I don’t take the seeds out but you can if you want a lot less spice)
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 TB lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• a few grinds of fresh pepper

Instructions

• Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth.  Garnish with some choice sprigs of cilantro and serve with raw veggies of your choice. 

-Kala

Oh how I love dorky titles for blog posts!  Almost as much as I love fudge.  Peanut Butter fudge to be exact.  I made a little pan of this stuff a couple of days ago and it didn’t last long, it was sooooo good.  I’ve made this before, it’s my stand-by peanut butter fudge recipe, but it’s so much easier to do now that I’m using a gas stove.  Yay for the power of fire!  Recipe:

Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

-2 cups sugar

-2 TB light corn syrup

-2/3 cup vanilla soymilk

-1 TB margarine (I use Earth Balance whipped)

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/2 cup natural peanut butter (salt free)

-chocolate chips (optional)

Also needed:  large saucepan, candy thermometer, 8″ baking dish

1.  In the large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and soymilk.  Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 234 degrees F.  Remove pan from heat.  Please be extremely careful, hot sugar mixtures are like napalm. 

2.  Add the margarine and mix until well combined.  Let the mixture cool until it’s warm but not insanely hot.  Stir it once and while during the cooling process to break up any sugar crystals.

3.  Add in the vanilla and peanut butter.  Beat with a hand beater until the fudge is matte and airy.  Press the fudge into the baking dish and sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Cool well before serving.

4.  Enjoy!

-Kala

Or maybe Weirdo Hummus is a better name, I don’t know.  Anywho, I was starving like crazy and needed a quick snack before dinner (the boy is making bbq tempeh sammies, yum!) so hummus came to the rescue yet again.  Oh hummus, what can’t you do?  Being in an adventurous mood, I decided to play around with my standard recipe.  My first change was to add in a can of soybeans that have been sitting in the pantry for a while.  Straight out of the can, I can’t say I was impressed with the soybeans, and I usually love beans right out of the can.  But with everything else, they worked out nicely.  All in all, the hummus was tasty although it took a few bites for it to really grow on me. 

Eccentric Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can soybeans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced (I would have used more but this is all we had)
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 2 TB tahini
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• handful of raw spinach
• big pinch of salt
• 3 TB chili garlic sauce like Sambal Olek

Instructions:

1. Throw everything into a food processor and process until smooth.  You may have to add in some water, depending on how thick and chunky you like your hummus.
2. Serve with tasty papadums!

 -Kala

This is my standard go-to smoothie recipe and it’s super easy, just like a smoothie should be.

Black and Blue Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup frozen blackberries, rinsed
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, rinsed
• 1 cup soymilk (I use Silk Vanilla Light)
• 1/2 cup soy yogurt (I use Whole Soy and Company because it’s good and doesn’t try to kill me with traces of dairy like some soy yogurts do)

Instructions:

1. Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth. 
2. Be a fancy pants and serve it in a wine glass.

-Kala

Maybe if I make food that’s Spring/Summer appropriate, the weather will cooperate.  Ok, probably not but I had a weird desire to making something with black eyed peas so I came up with this simple little bean salad.  It may be snowing outside (it’s mid-April, this is so wrong!) but dinner was totally picnic worthy. 

Two Bean Salad

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 TB olive oil
• 2 TB apple cider vinegar
• 1 TB Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 tsp. chili sauce  
• 1TB maple syrup
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red peppers
• 1 16 oz can of black eyed peas
• 1 16 oz can of garbanzo beans
• 12 medium button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, roughly chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped

Instructions

1. Combine the first eight ingredients in a small bowl.  Set aside.
2. In a medium to large pan, saute the onion and bell pepper for a couple of minutes or until they start to soften up.  Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Add in the zucchini and mushrooms and continue to saute until all the veggies are as soft as you like. 
4. Drain and rinse the beans and add them to a large mixing bowl.  Add in the veggies and the dressing you made earlier and mix well. 
5. Serve warm or set it in the fridge for a while to cool.
6. Enjoy!

-Kala

This is something I just kind of made up, mostly because we didn’t have the stuff for the tofu scramble I wanted for lunch.  But it turned out really yummy I’ll definately have to make it again!  The recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of food, perfect size for a lunch for two.  Or one if you’re really hungry. 

Spicy Tempeh Salad on Toast

Ingredients:

• 4 oz tempeh
• 6 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 TB Vegenaise
• 1 TB dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. sesame chilli oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• salt and pepper to taste
• slice of bread (We use Rudis)

Instructions:

1. Crumble the tempeh into a medium sized frying pan and cover with water.  Bring this to a simmer and let cook until the water is all gone.
2. While the tempeh is cooking, sautee the bell pepper and mushrooms until browned and somewhat soft.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 
3. In a small bowl, combine the Vegegnaise, mustard, sesame oil, and garlic.  Mix well.
4. When the tempeh is done and cooled a bit, place it in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Add in the veggies and mix well.  Add in the Vegenaise mixture and stir. 
5. Toast the bread and top with the tempeh salad.  Enjoy!