Presto! Its Raw Spinach Pesto!

I went to my first Raw Vegan Potluck recently. It was a feast for the senses. Never have I seen such creativity and diversity at a spread. Raw food can be really intense in flavour and the word "concentrated" comes to mind....each dish leaves you feeling satisfied even with small spoonfuls. I was amazed at how my body was feeling after eating a completely raw meal: full yet energized and not lethargic. I admit at first I was nervous about bringing something as raw food often looks haute cuisinish...but I soon discovered many dishes can be made quickly and easily.

• 3 cups fresh organic baby spinach (great way of using wilting leaves)
• 3/4 cups raw organic pine nuts
• 3 tbsp. raw almond butter
• 1 avocado
• Salt
• Freshly ground white pepper (lots of it!)
• 4 cloves of garlic

Blend leaves first, then add rest of the ingredients and blend till desired consistency is reached. Pesto is more versatile and flavourful if made thick, unlike the waterdowned version at supermarkets. Pesto can be used as dips, spreads or pasta sauces.

This dish was served with raw crackers. Popeye would be proud.

Banana Couscous Breakfast

This is a hit with kids and is also well loved by adults. Very fast and easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 cup of couscous (whole wheat or kamut is good, but any will do)
2 ripe bananas, sliced
2 cups of almond or other non-dairy milk
1 tsp cinnamon

Method:
Warm milk on stove. Add the bananas before milk is warm. Once the milk is warm stir in couscous and cinnamon. Wait one minute then turn off the element. Once all or most of the milk is absorbed, serve. Makes 3-4 servings.

PS- Have fun substituting other fruits such as pear, plum, apples, nectarines, raisin or spice variations.

Scrumptious Tomato-Ginger Chickpeas

This is sooo good for adults and kids. And really healthy, especially good for an immune boost.

Ingredients:
1 14 or 16 ounce can of chickpeas (drained)
2 medium sized fresh tomatoes (diced)
1 inch of fresh ginger (grated)
1 clove of garlic
1/2 small purple onion
sea salt, black pepper to tast
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of cooked quinoa

Method:
Place chickpeas on low-medium heat, with salt, pepper and cinnamon. While warming up process the tomatoes, ginger, garlic and onion. Stir in quinoa. Wait a minute or two, then add the tomato mixture. Let heat up for 3 minutes or so, and serve. I try to cook the tomato sauce as little as possible to get the benefits of raw veggies and to get extra ginger flavour. But you can cook it longer if that suits your fancy. Serves two. It is really great leftover and cold.

Vegan Tempura

• Going out for Sushi can be disappointing. There are lack of options, and chefs can be devoid of innovation and consideration for those that choose to keep the fishes swimming happily in the sea.
  When I do find an occasional vegetarian option, like say tofu-miso soup....I find out that it has bonito (fish flakes) in it. Many Sushi joints offer one or two "veggie" nigiri rolls, usually to ease newcomers into the sushi world. In my experience, the veggie sushi tends to be miniscule cucumber/carrot rolls or (yawwwn) avocado rolls or sometimes slightly more interesting umboshi-plum rolls. One time (at band-camp, no really), I was left gawking when I was served sushi that consisted of (sit down for this) barely shredded iceberg lettuce and a carrot stick. They might as well have put french fries in it. Is Loblaws sushi is being sold at a resto? What really made me give up on resto sushi, was the time I went to a fusion place in Ottawa and asked for a veggie sushi roll to be created. I waited 45 minutes to be given 2 pricey pieces of "vegan" sushi, consisting of a clumpy bed of rice, a limp piece of steamed asparagus on top, and to make it worse, they omitted the nigiri (seaweed)-simply because the waitress thought vegans don't eat anything that "move" in the sea.
  
  I was much more impressed by Kaizen, a sushi restaurant in Montreal, where the menu clearly stated those items that were vegan (denoted appropriately by a little Buddha). The very values of quality and pride for a traditional preparation that makes Japanese cuisine so special, was applied to my vegan sushi and tempura starter. I was given innovative sushi, with substance and complexity to it.
  
  At times I think, this is what "vegetarians" must have felt like back in the day, when finding something other than a salad on a menu was rare. Having vegan options makes sense, as many vegetarians can easily enjoy them and perhaps even gain insight into veganism.
  
  Here is a Vegan Tempura recipe that is delicate and easy to make. Apparently the best tempura is traditionally made without eggs-traditionally vegan! Most pre-made tempura batter mixes have fillers and eggs in it, when it isn’t really necessary.
  
  Ingredients:
• 3 cups All purpose flour (I usually eat nothing but whole wheat but for tempura its a must!)
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1 cup Ice cold water
• Eggplant
• Zucchini
• Carrots
• Sweet Potato (or Yams)- crucial!
• Red, Green, Yellow Bell Peppers
• Green beans
• Onions
• Some light non-hydrogenated oil (like Canola)

Steps:

1. Wash all your veggies and slice thinly, use a Mandolin if possible (I have a great Japanese Mandolin, a Benriner, that I scored in Chinatown for 20 bucks-its light, so easy to clean that you will use it frequently, much better than any expensive European kind that tends to be heavy and stored in the back of your shelf)


2. Place ice cold water (it has to be freeeeeeezing) in a large bowl, and mix flour, baking powder (it should not be over mixed, it should look clumpy and parts should be dry)


3. Heat a wok with some oil (enough to fry)


4. When oil is heated, dip your thin veggies in the batter and immediately add to wok (try not to let too much batter drip into the wok because it will burn and get messy). To avoid oil from splattering and burning you, slide the veggies pieces gently along the side of the wok and ease them into the oil.


5. Do not overlap veggies in pan, and remove quickly. Watch the veggies frying, do not let them turn brown, it should look white but crispy.


6. When done, drain as much oil as possible and place on a plate with paper towel to absorb the extra oil

Tempura Dipping Sauce:

You can buy tempura dipping sauce at your grocery store but it often consists of MSG soy sauce and fish sauce/flakes. You can easily make it yourself in 2 minutes for a fraction of the price. I ran out of Mirin (rice vinegar) so improvised with Raw Apple Cider Vinegar and it was great!

1. Mix no-msg light soy sauce (or use raw Bragg's) with apple cider vinegar (proportion 2:1), enough to fill a 3/4 of a cereal bowl (for about 5 people)
2. Mix a table spoon of raw cane sugar
3. Make some wasabi paste (Japanese horse-radish powder) and dissolve in sauce
4. Chop some green onions, add and dip away

Gujarati Soy Raita

Indian food can be tantalizing with all those spice variations, each bite can reveal new nuances in flavour and heat. (I always wanted to use nuances in a sentence) Truth be told-to cool our palates before and after each bite, we can enjoy spicy Indian dishes with a side order of what I call SOYersion Raita, a vegan take on traditionally yogurt based dish.

Many regions of North India make "raita" differently. Since I am Gujarati, I use soy yogurt to make the following:

"Gujarati Soy Raita"

Gujarati dishes often play salty with sweetness....especially liked by children!

Ingredients:

• Soy Yogurt, plain (make sure the one you get is fortified with calcium, vitamins, and has pro biotic culture)
• 1 Banana, nicely riped and sweet
• Fresh coriander leaves, washed thoroughly
• Black salt (also called "Kala Namak" and can be found in South Asian grocery stores. It smells strong but adds great flavour)
• Finely ground pepper
• Finely ground chili powder or paprika

Steps:

1. Thinly slice banana, add to soy yogurt
2. Add fresh coriander leaves to soy yogurt (a small handful for a cereal bowl of soy yogurt)
3. Mix gently, keeping banana pieces intact
4. Sprinkle black salt, ground pepper, and paprika/chili powder in a pattern, one at a time (add to taste, maybe side by side swirls, starting from the outside edge to the centre of the dish). You can also add some mustard seeds, but I prefer limited spices, as "raita" is meant compliment a more complex dish.
5. Stir right before serving, for maximum ooohs and ahhhs

Goes well with "Indian Soy Keema Biryani"

Broccoli pancakes: Variation on a theme

A lot of my recipes are created as a result of what I call a "fridge cleaning exercise." That is, what's hanging out in the fridge that needs to be used AND what recipe do these loiterers fit into? As such, last night I made a Broccoli version of the Spiced Potato Pancakes. They were very good and made a beautiful batter. (Photos coming soon).

Ingredients: 1 'head' of broccoli (I used 3 heads since they were organic and are smaller than the usual grocery store variety), 6 small yellow potatoes, 1 yellow onion, 1 clove of garlic, 6 heaping tsp of brown rice flour, 1/3 cup unsweetened soy milk, 2 tbsp sunflower oil, 3 tbsp flax seeds. Spices: 2 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 tsp cumin, 1 oregano, 1/2 tsp chili powder.

Method: grate vegetables then add remaining ingredients and stir. Cook as described in Spiced Potato Pancake recipe. Makes 12 x 2.5 inch diametre pancakes. Hint: keep them in the oven once they are cooked so that you can serve them all together. Garnish with vegan mayonaise, dairy-free sour cream, salsa, sweet tomato sauce. I highly recommend a sauce with a sweet aspect to it to counter the pungent garlic and broccoli flavours.

Indian Soy-Keema Biryani

Embarking on a vegan lifestyle requires change in thought, consumption and consumerism. However, whenever asked the question "don't you find it difficult" I can comfortably say that it has been a rather easy progression-one that has not involved much stress, inconvenience or inner conflict. In fact, becoming vegan has been one of the easiest choices I have had to make!

In my recent experience I have found that it has been others who have been more affected by my veganism than myself. One of the positive outcomes has been the innovation and SOYersion of foods cooked by those close to me. The following twist on "Indian Keema Biryani" is a recipe created by my Mother, reminding me of those Sunday Keema Dinner nights at de Cherante.

"Indian Soy Keema Biryani"
Factoid: "Biryani" refers to an Indian rice preparation (there are hundreds of varieties)

Main Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup (not heaped) basmati rice
• 1 packet of soy ground-rounds, seasoned (President Choice makes a good one)*this is a soy product that simulates ground beef or what is called "keema" in Hindi
• 1 large red onion
• Fresh piece of ginger (size of your thumb)
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas or mixed vegetables *carrots, green beans, cauliflower, lima beans, peas
• 2 cups water

Spices:

• salt to taste
• 1 heaped Tbsp. whole cumin
• cinnamon sticks (1)
• whole cardamom pods (5)
• bay leaf (1-2)
• 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder (slowly roast whole cumin in a dry pan over slow heat and then grind the amount you need in a mortar. roasting gives for a more intense flavour. for a quicker alternative, add powdered spice in some heated oil and swirl it once. )
• 1 tsp. roasted coriander powder (see roasting instructions above)
• 1 heaped tsp. tumeric
• 1/2 tsp/ paprika
• 1/4 tsp. ground red chilli pepper

Add spices according to your taste/threshold, no need to measure exactly.

Steps:

1. Wash rice several times, until water on top becomes clear. Soak rice for 1/2 hr if possible (soaking rice makes it cook faster and makes rice softer and longer)
2. Chop onions into med. size pieces
3. Cover the base of a heavy pot or pressure cooker with canola oil, heat on medium-high
4. Once oil has heated add whole cumin seeds (to test put one seed in oil and if it crackles or quickly rises it is ready). This part is crucial, do not over cook the seeds or they will burn, become bitter and the base of your dish is caput. Instead, watch it carefully, and in a few seconds it will be done.
5. Immediately add onions after seeds, to avoid over cooking seeds. Cook till onions become pink.
6. Add minced garlic and ginger to onions. Both garlic and ginger cook fast, so do this step lickity-split!
7. Add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, bay leaf, roasted cumin powder and coriander powder-stir quickly so nothing sticks to the pot.
8. Drain the rice, add rice to pot and mix well. The rice should be coated with the oil. Keep stirring.
9. Add tumeric, paprika and red chilli powders. The rice should be slightly yellow because of the tumeric.
10. Add peas and ground rounds "soy keema" -stir.
11. Add 2 cups water (ideally hot water) to cover rice and maybe a few inches above the rice line. For every cup of rice, 2 cups water is the rule. If your rice is well-soaked or if you are using a pressure cooker, the water should be adujsted accordingly. Also note that if you are using a pressure cooker you do not have to soak rice. A rough rule of thumb, literally, is to have the water level at the 1st segment of your three-segmented finger, when placed over the level of the rice - try and see if it works for you.
12. Keep stirring (don't worry the stirring will be well worth it, the rice does not become sticky this way), add salt. I have always been bad at adding salt. The best way to know if you have added enough is to taste the water on top of the rice, and if it is slightly salty- its good.
13. Let the mixture boil, once it does boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the water has evaporated and little holes form on top of the rice.

When it is done, remove from heat and do not cover, otherwise your rice will get soggy.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

You can eat it with some Gujarati Soy Raita (SOYersion Yogurt side dish)- will add that recipe to the next post!

This dish lasts a few days, it makes enough for 4 people and some leftover lunch the next day.