Hummus, Smoothie and Soup

Here are some reviews of a few things I've made recently...

Jalapeno Cheddar Hummus from Eat, Live, Run
This hummus was okay but I was disappointed that I didn't taste the cheddar or jalapeno enough. The original recipe uses 1 jalapeno pepper, and I used 1/2 cup chopped pickled jalapeno so next time I'd use 3/4 to 1 cup and maybe add some of the liquid from the jar. I also used 2 tbsp olive oil and twice as much cheese (pureeing half into the hummus and stirring in the other half grated). I would recommend omitting the cumin because it overpowers the jalapeno and cheddar. (By the way I'm insanely addicted to pickled jalapenos right now.)

Pumpkin Gingerbread Smoothie from Oh She Glows
I followed the recipe exactly and it was yummy! I'd definitely recommend making it.

African Yam Stew from Vegan Yum Yum
I thought it was a brilliant idea to double the amount of spices - it was not. It was way too strong. So I can't really say how good this soup is or isn't. I liked the mix of vegetables though - onion, sweet potato, kale, carrots, and tomatoes. There are also raisins and peanut butter in there!

Latin Shredded Seitan

E really liked this seitan dish, which is saying a lot because he's not a huge fan of meat substitutes (though lucky for me he will eat them happily enough). I liked it too, but not as much as him. It's a great way to flavour up some seitan - with garlic, onion, bell pepper, cumin, wine and tomatoes.

If you have Viva Vegan!, please comment and let me know which dishes from it you loved or didn't like. I've only made a few things from it (like these empanadas) but want to make more.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Shredded Seitan and Mushroom Empanadas with Raisins and Olives
Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Seitan
Baked Seitan
Seitan Black Bean Corn Burgers

Latin Shredded Seitan
Adapted from Viva Vegan!

Serves 4 (with rice and another vegetable)

1/2 recipe (two loaves) Steamed Red Seitan
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup red wine
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground blac pepper

Slice the seitan as thinly as you can, then stack a few slices together at a time and chop the seitan into thin slivers.

In a large pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and garlic. Cook until the garlic sizzles, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, and cooking until the onion is soft and translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the cumin, cook for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and tomato. Stir in the seitan, coating the seitan with the sauce. Simmer for 12 to 14 minutes. The seitan should look juicy, so if starts to look dry, add more wine or tomato. Season with salt and pepper.

Buddha's Delight with Tofu, Broccoli and Water Chestnuts

Okay it was weird to not share any recipes with you guys! So maybe I should just post a roundup of meals every week and highlight my favourite recipe or something. This was my favourite of the bunch (served in my favourite bowl which I rarely ever use because it is easily damaged by metal utensils).

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Soy-Mirin Tofu with Snow Peas and Peanut Sauce
Maple-Miso Glazed Tofu with Broccoli and Butternut Squash
Tamarind Tofu Cabbage Bowl
Asparagus and Chickpea Stir-Fry with Hoisin Sauce

Buddha's Delight with Tofu, Broccoli and Water Chestnuts
Adapted from Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian

Serves 4

3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 pkg extra firm tofu, 1" cubes
5 1/2 cups broccoli, chopped (florets and stems)
1 1/2 cups carrot, 1/4" diagonally sliced
1 tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups green onions, sliced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups snow peas, trimmed
14 oz can whole baby corn, drained
8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup brown rice, cooked (about 2 cups cooked)
1/2 cup cashews

1. In a shallow dish, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar and sugar. Toss the tofu in and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. When ready to use, drain the tofu and reserve the marinade.

2. Heat canola oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add tofu and stir fry for 5 minutes, until lightly browned on all sides. Add in green onions, ginger and garlic - stir fry for 30 seconds. Add in broccoli and carrots - stir fry for 1 minute. Add in snow peas, corn and water chestnuts - stir fry for 1 minute. Whisk together broth and cornstarch. Add cornstarch mixture and reserved marinade to the wok; bring to a boil. Cook 2 1/2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Serve over rice with cashews.

Lasagna, Soups, Curry and Stir Fry

I love blogging and being part of the food blog world, but it can be really time consuming (as we all know). With my long commute (90 km one way) and my commitment to doing a beginning runner's program 4 days a week, I just don't want to spend my free time on the weekend stressing out about blog related things.

But I do still want to post about the things I've made. I'm just going to keep it simpler, and not post recipes. This will also help get through my huge backlog! Alright, so here we go!

Gluten Free Vegan Lasagna - which is originally from Appetite for Reduction. The photos posted by clean green simple made me want to make it asap! I really enjoyed it and plan to try out the original version as well with lasagna noodles. It has cauliflower ricotta, mushrooms, olives, spinach, tomato sauce, and zucchini/eggplant "noodles". I highly recommend checking out her photos - she took a picture at each layering step.

In a Hurry Curry from The Two-Week Wellness Solution. This dish is insanely easy to make, tasty, filling and has both a lot of vegetables and a good variety of them. Tomatoes, broccoli (or cauliflower), spinach and chickpeas in a simple coconut curry broth. I've made this many times. Such a great weeknight meal. Though I'm starting to get sick of my curry powder so was thinking about trying this dish out with Thai curry paste instead.

Sweet Pepper Coconut Corn Chowder from ExtraVeganZa. I love this cookbook and enjoyed this soup. But then anything with coconut milk is automatically delicious to me. Usually I don't like brothy soups - I prefer them thicker and pureed. But this one was nice with leek, carrots, jalapeno, chickpeas, bell peppers and corn. E didn't like the whole chickpeas.

Black Bean Soup with Jalapeno-Lime Creme from The Real Food Daily Cookbook. The soup itself was okay though I wouldn't make it again. The jalapeno-lime creme was SO good! Creamy spicy limey yum. Does anyone else have this cookbook? I haven't made a ton from it so would love any suggestions for what things I should try.

Buddha's Delight with Tofu, Broccoli and Water Chestnuts from Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian. When I was flipping through this cookbook, this dish caught my eye but it seemed too simple to be good. We decided to make it anyway and both really enjoyed it. I love the mix of vegetables - broccoli, carrot, green onions, snow peas, whole baby corn (!!! favourite), and water chestnuts (!!! other favourite). There was also cashews (love cashews in Asian dishes) and tofu. And there actually was a flavour. Would defintely make this again.

Lemon Curried Lentils and Potatoes

I often overlook recipes with potatoes, but I'm really happy this one caught my eye. Potatoes are combined with lentils and onions that are sauteed with garlic, ginger and spices. Then it's all mixed together with some soy sauce and lemon. So yummy and a new favourite way to eat lentils.

I also recently tried a sort of similar dish from Eats Well With Others - lentil, potato and pumpkin curry. This one has a can of tomatoes, pumpkin puree and a bit of a different spice mix.

So in my mind I was comparing these two dishes that both have potatoes, lentils and curry. I much preferred the lemon curried lentils and potatoes to the lentil, potato and pumpkin curry. This is likely at least partly due to the fact that I messed up and added twice as much of some of the spices in the pumpkin curry (like the coriander and cumin). But I liked how the lemon curried dish was more dry and a bit sour from the lemon. The pumpkin curry was very saucy and almost soupy. I'd suggest not adding the 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth.

PS - Today is my 6 year dating anniversary with E! (Yes I want to celebrate both our wedding anniversary and dating anniversary. Nothing wrong with using them both as excuses to do something special!)

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Dal Makhni
Pasta with French Lentils and Kale
Spice Market Sweet Potato and Lentil Packets
Pumpkin Lentil Curry

Lemon Curried Lentils and Potatoes
Adapted from ExtraVeganZa

Serves 6

I'd suggest serving this with a side of vegetables - maybe some roasted beets and carrots, or some sauteed kale, or a salad.

2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup green, brown or French lentils (I used French)
4 1/2 cups medium potatoes, cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Boil water in a medium pot with the salt and lentils. Cover, reduce to simmer and cook the lentils for about 45 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.

While the lentils are cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the potatoes and boil about 15-20 minutes, or until soft. Drain the potatoes and set aside.

In a frying pan on medium heat, heat the olive oil then saute the onions, garlic, ginger, garam masala, curry, turmeric and black pepper. Stir occasionally and cook until the onions begin to turn translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine the lentils, potatoes and onion mixture in the large pot. Stir in the soy sauce and lemon, and serve warm.