Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa

Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
8 oz tempeh, crumbled
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder blend
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
10 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

prepared quinoa

lettuce, cilantro, avocado, sri racha, etc for topping

1. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat
2. Sauté onion and pepper until soft
3. Add tempeh and cook until lightly browned
4. Add spices and stir to mix well
5. Add sweet potato and tomato, turn heat to low, and cover skillet for 8 - 10 minutes until sweet potatos are soft
6. Add black beans and stir to combine
7. Serve on a bed of quinoa
8. Add fun toppings

Adapted from the P90X2 Nutrition Guide

Vegan Turkey Saver

Vegan Turkey Saver

 Yield: 8 servings

1 gallon water
2 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups vegetable broth*
1/4 cup light olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce**
Cheesecloth (one double thick 24-inch by 16-inch piece)
2 6-inch pieces of string
1 batch uncooked stuffing (optional - I don't use it)

*If using the homemade vegetable broth, you may need to add salt to this recipe.
**Substitute Bragg liquid aminos if desired.

1) In a large pot, bring 1 gallon of water to a low boil.
2) In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten, yeast flakes, thyme, onion powder, and salt.
3) Add the vegetable broth, oil, and soy sauce, stir just until combined.
4) Form into a loaf shape.
5) Place gluten loaf on cheesecloth and roll up (not to tight). Tie each end with a piece of string.
6) Place in simmering water, covered, for 1 hour*** (2 hours for a double batch).
7) Preheat oven to 325.
8) Take roast out of water and remove cheesecloth.  Place in baking dish with prepared stuffing, if desired.
9) Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.

*** Make stuffing while turkey is simmering in the water.  Cook the stuffing in the baking dish with the turkey.



I have read this variation, but never tried it:

Variation: Vegan Turkey with Puff Pastry
After turkey is done boiling, remove it from the water and remove cheesecloth. Roll out a piece of puff pastry so that it will cover your turkey.  Cover turkey with puff pastry.  Brush puff pastry with a mixture of half ketchup and half water.  Sprinkle with a little bit of thyme.  Bake turkey, uncovered, at 400 degrees F. for 25 minutes.


 This recipe has been adapted from this great cookbook by Brian McCarthy:

Sizzling Tofu with Ginger Root Ankake Sauce

This recipe is a long time Many Hands House favorite, adapted from The Book of Tofu

Tofu

1/4 cup of kudzu powder, arrowroot, or cornstarch

2 egg whites (we use egg replacer, with a bit of turmeric)
18 ounces of extra-firm tofu
oil for deep frying

Combine arrowroot and egg whites in a small bowl; mix until smooth.
Cut tofu into twelve equal cubes (or thin rectangles), dip into the batter, and deep-fry.  Serve immediately with ankake sauce (below).

Ankake Sauce

2/3 cup dashi, stock, or water
3 tablespoons shoyu
2 tablespoons natural sugar
2 teaspons arrowroot or cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons of warm water
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger root or ginger root juice

Combine dashi, sugar and shoyu in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Stir in dissolved cornstarch and ginger root and cook for about 1 minute, or until thick.

Archer thought it should be presented differently:

 
We served it with edamame. Wolfie likes to eat his with chopsticks.

Saag (Palak) Paneer

  Another Punjabi inspired dish! Did you know "palak" means "spinach"? "Saag", however means "greens". So your saag paneer might be palak paneer, but it might not! This is another Many Hands House favorite that I have been making for over 15 years now. And yes, the children cheer when it is served!

Palak Paneer
serves 4


2 boxes of tofu or homemade paneer
6 cups packed fresh spinach or 4 frozen spinach
2 fresh hot green chiles, seeded and chopped (adjust to taste, or sometimes I use powdered cayenne)
1 tsp. each garlic and ginger
3 cups canned evaporated milk or coconut milk
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tsp. butter (or substitute)
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp. tumeric
2 cups chopped tomato
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar

cooked rice

- broil your tofu or paneer in the oven until golden, or fry in yummy butter.
- place fresh spinach in steamer basket and steam for 6 minutes. Transfer to blender with chiles, garlic, ginger, milk and flour. Blend til smooth.

-Heat oil and butter. Cook onion and tumeric for 4 minutes. Add tomato. Cook 4 more minutes.
-Add spinach mixture to onions and tomatos. Reduce heat. Stir in salt, sugar and tofu. Mix and heat through.

-Serve over rice.

Matar Paneer

 Matar Paneer is a recipe I have been making for decades. It's a family favorite and Chris' very very favorite. I usually make it vegetarian, and all of the ingredients (except spices) are available at Aldi. Last night I made it vegan, and it was darn good. Here are both versions! Remember you can mix the two recipes - a little tofu or coconut milk in your vegetarian version, for example.

Matar Paneer - Vegetarian  
(serves 8, you might want to halve it)

4 cans evaporated milk
2 blocks paneer (You can make it!)
1/2 cup ghee or butter
8 Tbsp. ginger root
4 Tbsp. garlic
1 onion, chopped
4 tsp. salt
4 tsp tumeric
1 tsp hot red pepper (you may want to adjust this for taste)
4 tsp. coriander
4 Tbsp. gharam masala
4 cups chopped tomato
2 cups peas
4 Tbsp. sugar
fresh cilantro


Put butter in skillet. Fry paneer cubes. (You can also bake them) Remove from pan.
Add more butter and ginger and garlic. Fry for 30 seconds.
Add onions and salt. Fry for 7 minutes (until soft)
Add one can of evaporated milk.
Stir in tumeric, red pepper, coriander, gharam masala
When blended, add the rest of the milk and the tomatoes
Bring to a slow boil, and let reduce for 10 minutes
Add peas and sugar
Add paneer
Garnish with cilantro







Matar Paneer - Vegan
(serves 8, you might want to halve it)


4 cans coconut milk
2 blocks tofu (You can make it!)
1/2 cup vegan butter
8 Tbsp. ginger root
4 Tbsp. garlic
1 onion, chopped
4 tsp. salt
4 tsp tumeric
1 tsp hot red pepper (you may want to adjust this for taste)
4 tsp. coriander
4 Tnsp. gharam masala
4 cups chopped tomato
2 cups peas
4 Tbsp. sweetener (to taste)
fresh cilantro


Put vegan butter in skillet. Fry tofu cubes. (You can also bake them) Remove from pan.
Add more vegan butter and ginger and garlic. Fry for 30 seconds.
Add onions and salt. Fry for 7 minutes (until soft)
Add one can of coconut milk.
Stir in tumeric, red pepper, coriander, gharam masala
When blended, add the rest of the coconut milk and the tomatoes
Bring to a slow boil, and let reduce for 10 minutes
Add peas and sweetener
Add tofu
Garnish with cilantro





We serve this with a salad and wheat tortillas. You could make papadum, chapatis, fried cauliflower, tamarind sauce, and mango lassi.


Girly recommends adding vegan sour cream to the sauce. Next time I will!

What We Eat - Day One - Shopping

  I am often asked,"If you're a vegan, what do you eat?". Which to me is amazing, because when I see meat based meals I think "Is this ALL you eat?". Also, many of my friends this week are simplifying their lives, and their meal plans, and blogging about it. I hate being a victim of peer pressure, but I do want to be part of the scene. So this week, I will try to accurately blog about what Many Hands House eats. Remember, Chris and I are vegan , but the children are vegetarian. I will include the recipes, which is why you all will keep checking back!  :)

  Making new recipes are one of the joys of my family. We look forward to trying new recipes and foods we've never tasted. The first year of my marriage, I tried to not make the same meal twice. Two of my children have expressed an interest in becoming chefs.

Today was shopping day. Chris went to Aldi, I went to Hy-Vee (a locally owned chain, I visit because of it's "Health Market" - it's the closest thing to a health food store I've got.)

Here is what we bought:
 

Aldi

tp

razors

shampoo and conditioner

coffee

creamer

yogurt
ravioli
frozen veggies

refried beans

olives

bread
soymilk
cheese
olive oil
broccoli

carrots

canteloupe

apples

grapes

pears

bananas

onions

fresh spinach

salad

corn on the cob

croutons

avacados

oranges
vegan butter
spaghetti sauce

corn muffin mix

can vegetarian chili

wine

Estimated cost - $195.00 ( Chris lost his receipt)


Hy-Vee Health Market 

vegan mayo

vegan sour cream

real maple syrup

tofu
water
soymilk
chickpeas

coconut milk
vital wheat gluten
dog food (IAMS large breed)

cedar chips
healthy-est  lasagna noodles
eggplants

tahini
whole wheat wraps

braggs

beer

more wine (there was a tasting - you'd have done it too if you were shopping with 5 children!)

cut daffodilds

3 conveniences orange juices and 1 green kombucha (for the ride home)

Cost - $132.08

 It was super fun to have the kids help. Often they help me find the cheapest of an item, for example, chick peas (Hy-Vee brand); or the most nutritious item, in this case wraps ( La casa low carb) and lasagna noodles (Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat)

Recipes to make this week:

vegan eggplant lasagna
vegan broccoli cheese soup

chickpea cutlets
vegan enchiladas
carrot ginger soup 

burritos

What new meals are you trying this week?

Portabello Mushroom Bake

   I love portobello mushrooms. They are wonderful as a side dish or even a vegetarian main dish. This is a dish from The Garden of Vegan (Arsenal Pulp, $22.95) by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. Bragg is similar to soy sauce.

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup tamari soy sauce (or preferably, Bragg sauce)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 6 large portabella mushrooms, stems removed
• 1 medium onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In blender or food processor, grind almonds until powdered.
Add oil, Bragg sauce, water, vinegar, garlic, rosemary and oregano; blend.
Place mushrooms upside down in baking dish, tightly in one layer.
Spread onion and sauce on top.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.
To serve, slice thickly on diagonal.

Butternut Squash with Veggies & Black Beans

Servings: 4  Preparation: 15 min.   Cooking: 25 min.   Total: 40 min.

• 1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter or Smart Balance Butter Spread with Flax (vegan!)
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp cilantro, or parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained

Place squash in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover saucepan and steam 10-12 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside. Melt butter in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sauté next 4 ingredients in covered skillet 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender. Stir in squash, remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5-10 minutes or until mixture is heated throughout.

Calories	Fat	Carbs	Protein	Fiber	Sugar	Cholesterol	Sodium
236 Kcal	6.51 g	39 g	9.3 g	9.82 g	5.01 g	15.3 mg	430 mg