To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
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My good friend, Edi Verdugo, joins me for this two-parter to make his family’s recipes. The green salsa will be in part 2. Consider making vegan nachos using the rice, beans & salsa.
Click the link below to watch.
Vegan Mexican Pinto Beans (for the Instant Pot)
INGREDIENTS
3 cups dry pinto beans
9 cups water
1 large onion – ends cut off & peeled but still whole
1-2 TBS garlic salt (to taste)
S & P to taste
DIRECTIONS
Put everything in the instant pot & cook on manual for 45 minutes.
The beans will look watery but they are supposed to be. Season to taste.
Vegan Mexican Rice
INGREDIENTS
1-2 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 (7 3/4) ounce can hot tomato sauce
1 TBS bouillon
DIRECTIONS
Toast the rice in the olive oil until it becomes fragrant & looks a bit golden. Do not overcook it.
Add the rest of the ingredients & cook rice according to package directions.
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
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Click the image above to watch my thwarted efforts at making a curry for rice.
Slow cookers. Mmmmmm! So satisfying. Coming home to a house filled with the aroma of a fresh cooked meal is the next best thing to having a wife. Or a husband. Because the dogs just never seem to get motivated enough to cook. Or maybe they do – but they just eat it all up themselves. This recipe can be made either as a curry for over rice or as a soup. If you are doing a version for rice – use a slow cooker. I cannot figure out how to cook something as delicate as red lentils in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker unless I want it to be a soup – which is how I salvaged this potential disaster.
This could also be made stove top in just the time it takes to cook the lentils but you might want to saute the onions a bit first to soften them.
Vegan Red Curry Lentils
feeds at least 2 very well with rice or — make the soup
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups lentils
1 TBS olive oil or coconut oil
10 oz can of Rotel or other diced or strained tomatoes
1 small onion – diced
1 TBS garlic cloves – minced
1 TBS fresh grated ginger – I used jarred
1 tsp ground cumin
2 TBS red curry paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper (according to your tolerance for heat)
1 tsp garam masala (recipe below if you cannot find it as garam masala)
1 TBS harissa or other hot sauce – like sriracha
2 cups water
1 (6 oz) can coconut milk
Chopped cilantro as garnish (and cook some rice to serve the lentils over if you did not make soup – I used brown Basmati). A bit of vegan sour cream might be nice to stir into the soup – if you went that way.
DIRECTIONS
SLOW COOKER CURRY (for rice)
Just stick all the ingredientsinto a slow cooker & set it on low. Go away for 8-10 hours. Or set it on high and it should be done in 2-3 hours. Serve over steamed rice. Garnish with cilantro & maybe additional hot sauce.
INSTANT POT SOUP
On the saute setting, saute the onion until soft. Add everything else & cook on manual for 8-10 minutes. Add more water to thin it to taste.
Serve with vegan sour cream & Sriracha & cilantro.
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
Click the image above to watch the video.
I love Indian food. I always have. I also love cooking with dry beans & lentils because they are so inexpensive & yield many servings for pennies per serving. The only issue with Indian recipes is acquiring the exotic spices – which can be expensive if you do not buy them from an Indian market. Ethnic markets are always the best place to buy spices because each will typically carry all you need for recipes from that area of the world and at greatly reduced prices. If you do not live in an area with much diversity – Amazon is wonderful. You can typically omit a few spices from most recipes with little loss of flavor but it is really satisfying to be as authentically true to a regional recipe as possible. With Thai food, for example, getting fresh kaffir lime leaves & Thai basil makes an enormous difference. You just open the packages of these things and are transported to your favorite Thai restaurant. Indian food has a few staples that are hrd to get around – garam masala, for example. But it is stuff like cardamom & fenugreek (methi) that add authenticity. Fenugreek is an herb – pictured below – both fresh & dried. It also comes in seed form & as a powder and it is ubiquitous in Indian recipes in one form or another. It might be a good idea to research a few Indian recipes & stock up on the critical spices sif you want to experiment with this wonderful cuisine. HERE is a list of the most used spices – garam masala being the most commonly used and that list omitted the kasoori (or kasuri) methi (dry fenugreek leaves) and I would add that to your list as well as amchoor (mango powder).
I made a version of mahkani in July – seen above – my Spicy Vegan Dal Makhani (Beluga or Black Lentils) for the Slow Cooker. That dish used beluga lentils & is not as authentic as today’s recipe. In today’s recipe I used whole black lentils (also called urad dal or black gram) and red kidney beans (rajma). I not only soaked these beans overnight but I also cooked them in my slow cooker for 5 hours on high AND left them overnight to let the flavors meld. I recommend this (though it is not necessary) to let the beans really soften & the flavors blend – so – if you are making this dish it takes two days before you are eating it. Again, you definitely could eat it after the 5 hours but like many stew-type dishes – it gets better over time. The good news is – there is no prep cooking for this dish so, except for cutting up an onion & 2 peppers – the slow cooker does all the work (except the smoking process – explained below). The lentils & beans I used are below – dry – and as they looked after soaking them – separately – overnight. As you can see – they changed color considerably. This dish is traditionally very rich using varied amounts of butter & heavy cream. I used only 2 TBS of vegan butter & 1/2 cup vegan sour cream – so this dish is not quite so heavy.
As to smoking your dal makhani – it is VERY easy & I recommend it very highly. It just requires a chunk of a natural charcoal & a small metal bowl. You simply heat the coal over a burner until it is red hot, place it in a metal bowl & drizzle olive oil on it & place it atop your dal & put the lid on the slow cooker. In ten minutes – you will have authentically, smoky goodness! (The photo of the smoking charcoal is from my Smoked & Spicy Indian Eggplant Curry (Vegan – Vegetarian) – seen below.)
Vegan Smoked Dal Makhani Punjabi-Style (Black Gram/Urad Dal & Rajma) –
Serves 6+ with rice
INGREDIENTS
1 cup dry black urad dal – soaked overnight
1/2 cup dry red kidney beans – soaked overnight
1 onion – diced
2 serrano (or jalapeno) peppers – seeded & diced
2 TBS vegan butter (or coconut or olive oil)
4 cups water (or vegetable stock)
1 cup tomato puree
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 TBS garam masala
1/2 tsp amchoor
2 TBS dry methi leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
3 green cardamom pods
1 TBS fresh or jarred ginger (I used jarred)
4 garlic cloves – minced
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
Steamed rice
GARNISH – more sour cream, cilantro or fresh fenugreek leaves
DIRECTIONS
Soak the beans overnight. Drain & rinse.
INSTANT POT
Heat the oil or butter using the saute setting – saute the onion & peppers until soft. Put everything else in & cook, sealed, on manual for 35 minutes.
SLOWCOOKER
Put everything except the sour cream into a slow cooker & cook on high for at least 5 hours – maybe more. If you are going for the overnight uber-cooking (as I did) – leave it covered overnight. I left my cooker off as there was nothing in there that would spoil but – if you are not comfortable with that – add some water & leave it on warm overnight.
STOVE TOP
Heat the oil or butter and saute the onion & peppers in a large stock pot until soft. Put everything else in & bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer until the beans are tender – 30 minutes or so.
Either way – the next step is the smoking (which you can skip but I recommend trying it because it is amazing. Heat the coal over a burner until it is red hot, place it in a metal bowl & drizzle olive oil on it & place it atop your dal & put the lid on the slow cooker or Instant Pot or pan. In ten minutes – you will have authentically, smoky goodness!
Now – stir in the sour cream. If it is too thin – add water or vegan milk to thin it. If it is too thin – cook it on high with the lid off until it thickens. Mashing some of the dal with a wooden spoon or pureeing with an immersion blender gives an even creamier result.
Garnish with a dollop of sour cream & serve with rice.
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
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Click the image above to watch the video.
These are as easy as putting everything into a slow cooker & walking away. I did not even pre-soak the beans. You could speed this process up either by using canned beans or soaking dry beans overnight or quick soaking them or cooking them on a higher setting – or by doing it stove top. These are mildly spicy & mildly citrusy. You could ratchet either of those flavors up or down – according to your preferences.
Vegan Spicy Citrus Black Beans (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker or Stove Top)
Feeds 6 with rice
INGREDIENTS
1 lb dry black beans
5 cups water or stock (1 cup only if using drained, canned beans)
Juice of 2 limes
juice of 1 large lemon
juice of 1 large orange
6 garlic cloves – minced
2 (or more or less) chipotle chilies in adobo – minced
1 onions – diced
3 serrano (or jalapeno) peppers – minced (or to taste)
Put it all in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Cook uncovered longer if they are too wet – add water if they are too dry. If they seem too runny – maybe puree a small amount of the beans & return them to the pan.
STOVE TOP
Put everything in a very large stock pot & bring to a boil & simmer until the beans are tender (90 minutes or more or until the beans are tender). Boil longer if they are too watery. Add water if they get too thick. If they seem too runny – maybe puree a small amount of the beans & return them to the pan.
INSTANT POT
Put it all into the Instant Pot & cook on manual for 25 minutes. Drain in a colander if they are too wet. Add water if they get too dry. If they seem too runny – maybe puree a small amount of the beans & return them to the pan.
All of these methods will go much faster with beans soaked overnight and, in the case of canned beans, the only times required is maybe an hour to let the flavors meld.
Garnish with cilantro & serve with rice. Maybe squeeze a bit of lemon, lime or orange juice onto the beans.
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
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Click the image above to watch the video.
My friend, Katie, turned me on to kitchari. Apparently, you can eat it – JUST IT – for 1-7 days straight & it calms your digestive tract & detoxes you system but with the added benefit of feeling like decadent comfort food. Also – mung beans are dirt cheap. (Articles on the subject are linked at the bottom of this post). This recipe makes about 7 quarts which is a fuckton so – unless you are feeding a lot of people or want to freeze some – consider reducing the recipe.
I used an Instant Pot to make mine but this can be done in a slow cooker or stove top. I really recommend Instant Pots, though, because they steam, pressure cook, slow cook, cook rice, cook cakes, saute, cook eggs & clean windows. I got my huge one HERE for just over $100 & I am VERY happy with it. I can now get rid of several other appliances.
***NOTE – I soaked my beans on the counter overnight & in the fridge a second night but this is not necessary. If you want to move more quickly – boil some water, add your beans & let them soak for an hour.
Ayurveda Kitchari – Vegan Mung Bean Stew
Caters a party so be ready for a lot
INGREDIENTS
3 cups mung beans (I used half whole green & half split green – as seen above) – soaked (see ***NOTE above)
1-2 TBS coconut oil or olive oil
1 onion – chopped
6 garlic cloves – chopped
1 TBS turmeric
1 TBS ground cumin
1 TBS (or more – to taste) salt (I used pink Himalayan)
1 TBS ground mustard
1 TBS ground coriander
1 TBS ground pepper
1 TBS ground fenugreek (optional)
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 (15 oz) can coconut milk (I used lite)
6 TBS minced ginger
1 cup cilantro
Vegetables are optional. Use any you prefer but I added:
5 small turnips – diced
5 small golden beets – diced
1 large sweet potato – diced
5 oz baby kale
1 tomato – diced
6 cups water
2 cups basmati (or other long grain white rice)
(If you are making your rice separate from the stew, as I did, it is nice to add a tsp cumin SEEDS & 6 green cardamom pods to it as it cooks but that is not necessary.)
GARNISH – coconut butter, cilantro, crushed red pepper
DIRECTIONS
Quick soak your beans (see note above) if you did not soak them overnight or for 2 days, as I did.)
Traditionally, the rice is cooked in the same pot with everything else. My Instant Pot was not large enough so I cooked it separately. This is your call – or maybe your pot size will determine your choice but it does not matter much either way.
Rinse the rice. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a very large pot (or your Instant Pot – my pot is 8 Quarts) and soften. Add the garlic & spices & stir to combine.
If you are using a slow cooker, transfer the onions & spices to it. Everything else is the same no matter whether you are slow cooking, Instant Pot cooking or going stove top. Only the cooking time will vary.
Now, add everything else to the pot. If your pot is easily deep enough to hold the rice, too, add that. If you are cooking the rice in the same pot – add 4 additional cups of water to the 6 cups used if you are cooking the rice separately (assuming your rice directions ask for 2 cups water per 1 cup rice. Adjust accordingly if your rice has different directions). Or – just cook the rice separately as the package directs. If you are making your rice separate from the stew, as I did, it is nice to add 1 tsp cumin SEEDS & 6 green cardamom pods to it as it cooks but that is not necessary.
Slow cooker – cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Stove top – bring to a boil uncovered for 5 minutes. Reduced heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or more or until everything is tender.
Instant Pot – seal & cook manually for 10 minutes.
If it is to thick, thin it with extra water. If it is too thin, let is simmer, uncovered, for a while longer.
Serve with rice (if you cooked it separately) and garnish with coconut butter (burns fat & lowers cholesterol) and lots of cilantro & maybe some crushed red pepper.
Here are some articles for more info on kitchari & using it to detox:
Hoppin’ John is a traditional southern dish, typically served on New Years Day to bring a prosperous new year. Here is WIKIPEDIA’S explanation. I didn’t add peas to mine but you certainly can & I love the idea of serving each bowl with a coin beneath it to ramp up the good fortune.
This is CRAZY easy to make & tastier than you might guess. I made these in my Instant Pot with dried beans but these can be done very quickly on your stove top with canned beans or with dry beans in a slow cooker.
Click the image above to watch the video.
Vegan New Years Day Spicy Hoppin’ John
Serves 4 very well
INGREDIENTS
1 lb dried black eyed peas (or 2 lbs canned – drained & rinsed – if you are going stove top)
1 medium onion – diced
3-6 garlic cloves – diced
4 celery stalks – diced
1 red bell pepper – diced
1 4oz can diced green chilies or jalapenos (optional)
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo – diced (more or less – to your taste)
1 TBS ground cumin
1 TBS olive oil
4 cups vegetable stock
S&P to taste
GARNISH OPTIONS:
Diced tomatoes
Scallions – sliced
Fresh Italian parsley – chopped
Fresh cilantro – chopped
Red onion – diced
Avocado – sliced
Tabasco, Crystal (or other hot sauce)
COINS (Pennies – silver dollars? Your call) – for placement under each serving dish
Cooked rice
DIRECTIONS
Cook your rice according to the package instructions.
INSTANT POT: Using the saute setting, heat 1 TBS olive oil & saute the onion, celery & bell pepper until soft. Add the garlic & saute one minute. Add the rest of the ingredients & cook, sealed, on the manual setting for 45 minutes.
SLOW COOKER: If you are using dried black eyed peas – bring a pot of water to a rapid boil. Add the black eyed peas & boil for ten minutes. Turn off heat, cover & let stand for an hour. Drain & RINSE WELL.
In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil & saute the garlic, onion, red pepper and celery until the vegetable are soft.
Once your vegetables are sauteed, you simply combine the already partly cooked beans with the vegetables, chipotle, green chilies, cumin, and S&P with 4 cups of veggie stock to your slow cooker. Heat on high for 5 hours.
STOVE TOP:
Use canned beans. Heat 1 TBS olive oil & saute the onion, celery & bell pepper until soft. Add the garlic & saute one minute. Add a cup of vegetable stock and the rest of the ingredients & simmer until heated through & al the flavors meld. Add more stock if the get too dry. Cook on high if they are too watery.
Folded Money Collard Greens
INGREDIENTS
24 oz collard greens – trimmed, chopped & washed
1-2 TBS olive oil
1 large onion – diced
6 (or more) celery stalks – diced
6 garlic cloves – diced
1 TBS crushed red pepper
3 cups veggie stock
1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1/4 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
2 tomatoes – diced
Hot sauce as garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil in a pan. Saute the onions & celery until they soften. Add the chopped garlic & crushed red pepper. Saute another 1-2 minutes.
Add the stock and collard greens & smoked paprika, stock. Bring to a boil & then reduce heat to low, cover & simmer – covered – for about 20- 30 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes & liquid smoke. Stir in & let sit on low heat – or removed from heat – for about 30 minutes. Don’t add salt…unless you really like being dehydrated & being unable to remove your rings. Somehow – this is QUITE salty just from the stock.
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or just print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
Click the image below to watch the video.
OK – in order to make this recipe – you really will need two important ingredients – seen above – preserved lemons & ras el hanout. The preserved lemons will give the dish its distinctive Moroccan flair and the ras el hanout will keep this stew from tasting like a curry. You can make the ras el hanout – as it is just a blend of other spices – but buying it will be so much cheaper & easier. See the package below – list the spices involved in that particular brand.
I used saffron – because I had it – but saffron can be very expensive so – if you don’t have any & don’t want to shell out the funds – blow the saffron off. Same with the harissa (a hot sauce). The two things I really suggest you not blow off are the preserved lemons & the ras el hanout – both of which can be purchased on Amazon.
Preserved lemons come in a jar (see above) & are simply lemons pickled in brine. They maintain all their sharp lemon flavor but are quite salty & very soft. The flavor they give this dish is critical – so – be patient – and get some before making this.
Other than that – this is a straight-forward slow cooker dish (which could be made by simmering on the stove, too) with ingredients that are easy to come by. I served mine with this Trader Joe’s blend of grains but couscous is more traditional. I like this stuff from Trader Joe’s because it is pretty & offers lots of textures. You can serve yours with whatever grain you prefer.
I used Beyond Meat chicken because I think it is the best on the market. I thawed & shredded it because it breaks down in stews better that way & because – visually – it really looks like shredded chicken. I am convinced you could slip this by meat-eaters with no complaints.
Vegan Moroccan Chicken, Chickpeas & Butternut Squash with Preserved Lemons for the Slow Cooker (or Not)
Serves 4-6 with couscous or rice
INGREDIENTS
9-12 oz vegan chicken
1 onion – diced
2-4 garlic cloves – chopped
2 (15 oz) cans of chickpeas – drained
4 cups vegetable stock
1 TBS ras el hanout
1/4 – 1 preserved lemon (depending on hpw large it is) – diced small (start with less & add more as you go – just so that this flavor doesn’t get to overpowering for you) – I used the entire 1/2 lemon using all parts
Saffron (a large pinch or more) – optional
Green and/or black olives – I used half Kalamata & half large martini olives – in a quantity to suit your taste for olives – optional
1 TBS harissa (or other hot sauce) – optional
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
3 carrots – chopped
1 butternut squash – peeled, seeded & cubed
1/2 – 1 red bell pepper – diced
1 lemon – peeled & sliced
1 handful cilantro
GARNISH – chopped cilantro or parsley, lemon wedges/slices
Cooked couscous or other grain
DIRECTIONS
Instant Pot – Put all the ingredients in & use soup setting for 20 minutes.
Slow cooker – Put everything into a slow cooker & cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8. If you started light with the preserved lemon – taste occasionally & add more – if you like the flavor. Overall – it should have a strong lemon flavor. It should not need salt – because the preserved lemons, olives & stock should have that covered.
Stove top – just bring to a boil & simmer everything until the vegetables are soft – likely less than an hour. If you started light with the preserved lemon – taste occasionally & add more – if you like the flavor. Overall – it should have a strong lemon flavor. It should not need salt – because the preserved lemons, olives & stock should have that covered.
In all cases – add water if it gets too thick. Drain in a colander if it is too wet.
Serve with whatever grain you chose & garnish with cilantro or parsley & lemon wedges.
Delightful-Delicious-Delovely 