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Curried Vegan Meatballs

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Oh man, things have been crazy around here (what’s new?).

Between work, renovations and planning/catering our wedding, I’ve been paddling to keep my head above water. Dinners have been getting more and more sad. Some nights, it’s been a struggle to make a cup of tea let alone a full meal that someone on the Internet might want to look at or recreate… that is, unless you would like to recreate my tea and toast.

Apologies in advance because I suspect my posts will begin to get a little few and far between for a few weeks.

But, last night after a very chilly swim in the sea, I needed something warm and hearty to come home to. Our plan for the night was the sit in front of the television, curled up together and watch trashy cooking competitions all night.

An absolute luxury these days.

And, even though we used pre-prepared vegan meatballs, this dish was exactly what we needed and required just enough cooking to feel like I’d done something useful in the kitchen, but without being mentally taxing in any way. And who wants their meal to be mentally taxing? I’ll save that for the constantly breaking toilet, the leaking roof and the 40+people I’ll be feeding in two weeks.

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Curried Vegan Meatballs
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 350 g Vegan Meatballs (I used V-Bites brand)
  • 2 TBSP oil
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 cup onions (1 large), minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 inch of ginger, peeled and minced
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 400g can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 (14-ounce can) full-fat coconut milk
  • Kosher salt
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped
  • 2 tsp lime juice
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil and then add the mustard seeds.
  2. Once done, add onions, garlic and ginger and cook until golden brown.
  3. Then add the ground coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper.
  4. Stir, and cook 30 seconds.
  5. Add the canned tomatoes and cook until they soften, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the coconut milk, ½ cup of water, ½ teaspoon salt and bring to boil.
  7. Turn down to a simmer and add the meatballs.
  8. Simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.
  9. To finish, add the cilantro and lime juice.
  10. Season to taste.
  11. Serve with rice, chapatis or naan.

 

Lemongrass Tofu Banh Mi

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A few months ago, I celebrated my birthday in Ho Chi Minh City.

All I wanted to do for my birthday was to eat a traditional Vietnamese sub (or Banh Mi) in Vietnam.

I’m a bit obsessed by banh mi. I would eat it happily every day for the rest of my life. Obsessed.

As you might imagine, finding a vegetarian version required a bit more work. We walked for hours to reach the highest rated vegetarian banh mi in Ho Chi Minh.

Now, I should preface this by saying that I come from a city, Edmonton, that has wholly embraced the Vietnamese sub… and if I do say so, Edmonton does them quite well. So, after hours of walking, we reached the shop.

I was so excited.

So excited, I can’t even describe it.

But, when it arrived, I have to say I was disappointed. It was dry, lacking in any sauce and it didn’t have the characteristic pickled vegetables and cilantro on it!

A few days later, we were in a town called Nha Trang. One rainy morning, we wandered out of our hostel and happened upon a small stall with the most adorable woman standing there serving only vegetarian banh mi for the equivalent of 20 pence. And, it definitely had lots of sauce, cilantro and pickles. She made every piece of that sandwich herself, included the mock meats. And right next to her was another adorable iced coffee seller. Every single morning while we were there, for less than 50 pence, both of us dined like kings and enjoyed being fussed over by the two motherly women.

Now that we are back, I’m test running all of the recipes that I want to include in our wedding celebration. This banh mi is very high on the list. But, since I have a wedding dress to fit in to in 2 weeks, I’m having it as a rice noodle bowl instead! Same ingredients, just using rice noodles instead of bread.

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Lemongrass Tofu Banh Mi
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 (14-ounce) package water-packed extra-firm tofu, drained
  • 2 TBSP chopped peeled fresh lemongrass
  • 2 TBSP water
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 1 TBSP soy sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp sesame oil, divided
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 TBSP white sugar
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1¼ cups matchstick-cut carrot
  • 1¼ cups matchstick-cut cucumber
  • 3 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro
  • 3 TBSP vegan mayonnaise
  • 1½ teaspoons Sriracha (or your favourite hot sauce)
  • 1 French bread baguette, halved lengthwise
Instructions
  1. Cut tofu crosswise into 6 even slices.
  2. Arrange tofu on several layers of paper towels. Cover with additional paper towels; top with a cast-iron skillet or other heavy pan. Let stand 15 minutes.
  3. Remove tofu from paper towels.
  4. Combine lemongrass, water, sugar, garlic powder, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange tofu slices in a single layer in soy mixture, turning to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes.
  5. Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a medium bowl, stirring until sugar and salt dissolve. Add carrot; toss well. Let stand for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain; stir in cilantro.
  6. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu slices to pan, and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden. Pour marinade in to pan with tofu and cook down until thick and sticky.
  7. Cut bread horizontally.
  8. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly on cut sides of bread.
  9. Top with hot sauce.
  10. Arrange tofu slices on bottom half of bread; top tofu slices with carrot mixture and cucumber slices. Cut sandwich and serve!

 

Roasted Vegetable Tahini Rice Bowl

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When I was in first year of university, I stumbled upon this little hippy shop across the street from campus. It was there that I found my fellow vegetarians. It felt like coming home. Spelt bread, soy chai lattes, tofu and tempeh as far as the eye could see. I used to go there on a fairly regular basis to drink chai, study and pretend I was all grown up.

The stand out dish for me at that café was a rice bowl. The first time I had it I was blown away. It was everything I wanted in a dish.

It had baked tofu and steamed vegetables all lying on a bed of brown rice that had been tossed with a creamy lemon tahini dressing.

Aside from being incredibly delicious, it also helped me on my road to tofu love. Even if you hate tofu, just give this a try.

The baking process really helps to change the texture and taste of the tofu.

And although eating this is not quite the same without the smell of patchouli and peppermint in the background, you can still catch  me eating this with a big mug of chai, staring off in to the distance. But this time, I’m trying to pretend that I’m not grown up at all.

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Roasted Vegetable Tahini Rice Bowl
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 batch of baked tofu (recipe on site)
  • 1 head of broccoli cut in to chunks
  • 2 large carrots, cut in to chunks
  • 1 head of cauliflower, cut in to chunks
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 4 cups of cooked brown basmati rice
  • ¼ cup Tahini
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
  • ¼ cup flaked nutritional yeast or more, to taste
  • 3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, to taste
  • 1 tsp sea salt + freshly ground black pepper,
  • 3 tbsp water, or as needed
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 210 C (425 F).
  2. Toss broccoli, cauliflower and carrots in olive oil, salt and pepper.
  3. Transfer vegetables to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  4. Put in oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through and nicely browned.
  5. In a blender, mix tahini, garlic cloves, vinegar, ½ cup lemon juice, nutritional yeast, olive oil, salt and water. Blitz until smooth. Season to taste.
  6. Toss ½ of dressing with rice and place the rest off to the side.
  7. Place one cup of seasoned rice in each bowl.
  8. Top with roasted vegetables and baked tofu.
  9. Drizzle with remaining sauce.

 Benedict’s Verdict

I went to university in Manchester in the early nineties.  The closest thing to vegetarian food back then, at least in the circles that I moved in, was egg and chips. Maybe a Margherita pizza (although we called it a plain pizza back then).

Maybe if there had been some hippy cafes like the one Jen went to, I would have fallen in love with tofu, beansprouts and healthy food.

Part of me fears that it is too late to change now, but I know deep down that it is not.  When there is delicious, nutritious food like this available, then I will choose it over egg and chips. Ninety five per cent of the time.

Challenge: Hungarian Goulash

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We got a slow cooker!! I know I’m about 30 years late to this party, but better late than never, right?

Plus, what you might not know is that Ben and I are getting married in 3 weeks and I’m catering the party, so I think the slow cooker will become my best friend on the day.

Tonight I’m just playing around with it and what better to play around with than to challenge it?

The Challenge:

Goulash

The Plan:

Smoky, spicy and meaty- goulash is a soul warming stew of Hungarian roots. I have always had a more American version of it, which seems to lack all the depth of spices of the original version. Here I’m aiming to combine the two for a goulash with all of the spices but more of a tomato background.

Also, I’m using vegetarian mince rather than chunks of seitan, but you could do either!

The Verdict:

After a cool evening spent swimming in the British sea, this was the perfect meal to come home to. Along with a hot cup of tea (what a British thing to say), this instantly warmed us to our cores. It was spicy without being hot and gave me that lovely warm feeling of pure satisfaction.

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Challenge: Hungarian Goulash
 
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Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 pound (454 g) veggie mince or seitan cut in to 1 inch chunks
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 TBSP all-purpose (plain) flour
  • 1 TBSP smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 1 (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes, undrained
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-1/2-inch chunks
  • 1 red pepper, cut in to chunks
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ cup vegan sour cream or plain yogurt
  • Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
  1. In a slow cooker, combine mince (or seitan chunks), onion, and garlic; mix well.
  2. In a small bowl, combine flour, paprika, salt, pepper, and thyme; mix well.
  3. Add to mince mixture, tossing to coat well.
  4. Add tomatoes with liquid, carrots, red pepper and bay leaf; mix well.
  5. Cover and cook on HIGH setting 4-1/2 to 5 hours hours or on LOW setting 8 to 9 hours, or until onions have cooked right down.
  6. Remove and discard bay leaf.
  7. Top with vegan sour cream or yogurt.
  8. Serve over noodles or rice.

 

Benedict’s Verdict

Slight problem with this dish. Well major problem if you have a girlfriend, wife or partner who is picky about your appearance. It gets everywhere; over your clothes, face and possibly expensive new furniture. It is so yummy, you will not be able to resist cramming it down as quickly as possible and not probably paying not quite enough attention to how it gets into your tummy as you probably should.

I didn’t even notice to be honest. It was only Jen’s look, partly of love, partly of exasperation, partly of amusement, that told me that I not been as accurate as I could have been. “You look like a small child!” she said, as she often does, wiping the residue of my face like a concerned mother.  “As long as you have not got it onto our couch.”  I was going to correct her and tell her it was called a sofa, but I thought that might be pushing it.

As much as I feel a bit foolish about being messy though,  Jen’s influence is starting to rub off on me. I am improving.  I am still wont to create a mess, but I am starting to notice when I do.  At lunch yesterday for instance, I noticed when I ate this cold, I had splotches over my nice clean white shirt.  Oops.

 

 

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