4 Cans Curry—Garbanzo beans, Yam and Coconut Curry

I would like to say I only use fresh Ingredients but that is not true- in fact far from it. Sometimes I just don’t have fresh ingredients left in the fridge so I rely on some canned staples lying around the pantry. I almost always have a few cans of garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes, coconut milk, and yams. These 4 ingredients plus curry powder make a quick and easy curry.

4 Can Curry—serves 3-4

2 tbsp of Canola oil
1 can of yam
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 can of coconut milk
1 can of diced tomatoes drained
1 cup of frozen peas and carrots
1 cup of chopped yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tbsp of fresh ginger minced
1 tsp of crashed red pepper
1 tbsp of curry powder
1 tsp of garam masala
4 cups of cooked rice
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a heavy saucepan heat the oil and add onion, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent.
2. Add curry powder (until fragrant) about 30 seconds. Add salt and pepper.
3. Add the yam, garbanzo beans , coconut milk and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the peas and carrots, tomatoes and garam masala. Cook until heated through.
5. Serve over rice.

By the way this recipe is inspired by the Chickpea & Sweet Potato Curry recipe in Williams-Sonoma Vegetarian: Food Made Fast; Williams, Jacobi and Bettencourt.

Summer Squash Pasta

I am not a very good gardener. At least not yet anyways. In my community garden, I swear everybody else has 5 times more Tomatoes, beans, etc. But one thing I have plenty of— squashes. So I did summer squash pasta! I am constantly looking for recipes to use up my squashes. Please let me know if you have good squash recipes.

Summer Squash Pasta (Serves 4)

3/4 package of pasta about 400g (use vegan pasta for vegans)
1 zucchini chopped
1 yellow squash chopped
1 small yellow onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
½ package of mushroom sliced
2 cans of stewed tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
2-3 leaves of fresh basil minced
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the pasta according to package, drain.
2. In a sauté pan, heat oil and add garlic, be careful not to burn the garlic.
3. When garlic releases its fragrance, add vegetables; cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add stewed tomatoes and seasonings; simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add pasta into the pan and stir in minced basil, and serve.

Red Lentil Pilau

This recipe was bit more complicated than my usual simple recipes. I never made my own spices before, and I enjoyed making Garam Masala myself. Oh…. The aroma. It filled our house and made it smelled like Indian Restaurant.

This recipe is from a fabulous book called Homestyle Vegetarian.

The book says the prep time is 15 min, but it took me a lot longer. And it did not exactly come out like the picture in this cookbook, it came out more like risotto but still tasted very good. My husband said he would put this one in top 10.

GARAM MASALA
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cardamom pods
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1-teaspoon whole cloves
1 small cinnamon stick, crushed

3 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1-cup basmati rice
1 cup red lentils
3 cups hot vegetable stock
Spring onion (scallions), shredded to serve (I used small green onions)

1 to make the garam masala, place all the spices in a dry frying pan and shake over medium heat for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Blend in a spice grinder, blender or mortar and pestle to make a find powder.
2. Heat the oil on a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic and 3 teaspoons of garam masala. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until soft.
3. Stir in the rice and lentils and cook for 2 minutes. Add the hot stock and stir well. Slowly bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked and all the stock has been absorbed. Gently fluff the rice with a fork. Garnish with the spring onion.

NOTE: If time is short you can use ready-made garam masala instead of amazing your own.

Tofu and Apple Curry (Vegan)

Tofu and Apple, really? I know what you’re thinking: what an unusual combination. But it works really nicely. Trust me, once you make curry with fruit you will be hooked. You’ll be tempted to try it with other fruits too. I also like Pineapple and mango curry. When I make curry with fruit, I make it a little hotter than normal to balance the sweetness of the fruit.

I packet of fried tofu, chopped to ½ inch squares
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1tbs of vegetable oil
1tsp of crashed hot pepper
3 c vegetable broth
2 apples cored and chopped
½ c of minced carrots
1 yellow onion, minced
1 cloves of garlic minced
1-2 tbsp of curry powder
1/3 cup of green peas sawed
1 tbsp of soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a sauté pan, sauté garlic. When oil is infused with garlic aroma, add onion, cook till it is soft. Add curry powder.
2. Stir in apples and cook until it gets soft, add tofu, carrots and stewed tomatoes, cook for about 5 min, while crushing the tomatoes with wooden spoon(s).
3. Add vegetable broth, and soy, cook for about 10 min to reduce.
4. Add green peas and cook for a few minutes, salt and pepper to adjust the taste.
5. Serve with rice.

Tofu and Bok Choy Ginger Sauce (vegan)

First time I made this dish my husband pointed to bok choy and asked me, “what is that shrubbery?” Hmmm… Shrubs? You mean these vegetables?

These shrubs (bok choy) come in handy in stir fry, soups. Simply boil or steam for a side dish. I stir-fried it with tofu this time. You can find the bok choy in most grocery stores these days. But I find it is usually much cheaper and fresher at Asian grocery stores. That goes the same for Tofu.

Tofu with Bok Choy (serves 4-8)

1 packet of firm tofu drained and pressed.
4 baby bok choy chopped length wise, or one large bok choy chopped in 5 inch lengths(don’t worry, it shrinks).
1 cup of vegetable broth, or 1 cup of water with a bouillon cube.
1tsp of minced ginger
3 sprigs of green onion chopped in 2 -3inch lengths.
2/3 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper
1tbs rice wine
1/3 tsp of sugar
1 tbsp of corn starch with 3 tbsp of water, mixed
2 tbsp vegetable oil

1) Cut drained and pressed tofu into 2 inch cubes,
2) Heat oil in a sauté pan, add green onions and ginger.
3) Add broth to tofu and bok choy, bring to a boil
4) Add salt, wine, sugar and pepper, reduce heat, cook for 5 to 6 min.
5) Slowly add in cornstarch—water to thicken the sauce.

Quinoa with Toasted Walnut Salad

I call this “Salad on Steroids”. I do like simple salad most of the time, but this is not one of them. It has so many flavors packed in it. Such a fun salad.
Quinoa is gaining popularity in recent years because of its super health benefits. Quinoa is complete protein so it’s great for vegetarians. It is also wheat and gluten free.

Check out this site to learn more about the health benefits of quinoa.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142

Health benefits aside, I just love the nutty flavor of Quinoa. It’s very easy to make and is nice alternative to rice.

Quinoa and walnut salad (serves 6-8)

1 cup of quinoa (I used the red kind. It has more fiber)
2 cup of water
3 tbsp walnut oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp of oregano
½ tsp of ground cumin
½ tsp of salt
½ tsp of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup of corn kernels, canned or frozen
½ English cucumber chopped
1 cup of tomatoes chopped
½ cup of chopped toasted walnuts
½ cup of marinated artichoke chopped
1/4 cup of green olives sliced

1) In a saucepan, add water and quinoa, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until all water is absorbed.
2) Make dressing in a bowl. Combine walnut oil, lemon juice, oregano, ground cumin, salt and pepper. Add quinoa and other ingredients.
3) Serve on top of lettuce.

Zucchini Casserole

This recipe came from my friend Julie (thanks Julie!) and I adjusted some items in order to make it vegetarian. In the original recipe, it called for chopped cooked chicken and used cream of Chicken soup.
I simply omitted the chicken and used cream of mushroom soup instead.

I have made this dish with all kinds of left over vegetables: yellow squash, pumpkin, broccoli and carrots, green beans and carrots……very versatile recipe.

1 pkg. Stove Top
6 cups sliced zucchini (steamed)
1 can cream of mashroom soup
12 oz sour cream
1 cup chopped carrots(steamed)
¼ cup chopped onion
4 tbs of margarine.

1) Melt margarine, add stove top mix. put ½ of the dry Stove Top mix on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.
2) Add in layers of zucchini and carrots.
3) Mix together onion, sour cream and soup. Spread over top.
4) Top with remaining Stove Top mix , sprinkle seasoning mix over top.
5) Bake at 350 for 45 min.

Tabouli Salad

If you’ve never had Tabouli, you don’t know what you’re missing. Tabouli is a healthy and refreshing Mediterranean salad made with cracked wheat (Bulgur).  I make this salad often, especially in the summer.  Once you have had Tabouli, I know it will become a family staple.

Tabouli (serves 4-8)

1 cup of Cracked Wheat (Bulgur)  *
*Available at health food stores, usually in the bulk section.
2 cups of water
1 cucumber chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1/3 c chopped green onions
1/3 chopped fresh parsley
1/3 chopped fresh mint
Juice from 2 lemons
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
½ tbs of pepper
3 tsp salt
I clove of garlic minced (optional)

1)   Boil 2 cups of water. Add bulgur and 1 tsp of salt into a pan, turn heat down to low. Simmer for 15 min or until all water is absorbed.
2)   Mix all ingredients in a salad bowl. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Tofu Steak—Mushroom Sauce

This mushroom sauce is very rich and decadent and goes so well with fried tofu. I make this when I am craving something hearty.  I use dried shiitake mushrooms, and a packet of Enoki mushrooms, which can be difficult to find.  But you can substitute with any kind of mushroom.

Tofu Steak  with Mushroom sauce (serves 2-4)

2 Packets of Fried Tofu*
*you can find fried tofu in any Asian store or you can fry the firm tofu yourself.
1 cup of shiitake mushroom, chopped
1 packet of enoki mushroom, chopped
1tbs of soy
2tbs of rice wine
½ tbs of vegetarian oyster sauce
3tbs of butter or margarine
Pinch of salt and pepper to taste

1)   Place tofu in a colander; pour boiled water over tofu to eliminate the excess oil.  With knife, add several ½ slits on one or both sides of tofu.
2)   In a frying pan, melt 1 tbs of butter; add tofu and sauté for about 5 minutes each side. (Equals about 10 minutes). Low medium heat.
3)   Take the tofu out of the pan. Set aside.
4)   In the same pan, add 1tbs of butter, chopped mushroom, salt and pepper, sauté with medium high heat. (A few minutes)
5)   Pour mushroom on top of tofu.
6)   In the same pan add 1 tbs of butter, soy 1tbs of rice wine ½ tbs of oyster sauce, stir until it thickens.  Pour sauce on top of tofu and mushroom