Moroccan Mashed Potato Casserole

I had some extra potatoes and was looking for something interesting to do with them. I found this recipe for Moroccan Mashed Potato Casserole on page 271 of Olive Trees and Honey. The recipe was unlike anything I had ever made before. It involved boiling potatoes, mashing them with turmeric, whisking in 6 eggs, combining with other vegetables, and baking.

The resulting casserole was fine but not particularly exciting. It was definately too salty. Although I think the salt would have been fine if I had used the 3 onions the recipe calls for instead of onion oil (to make it low fodmap). I thought the dish was a bit too eggy (maybe 4 eggs would have worked better?) and I wasn’t sure about the soft carrots inside the dish. This was an interesting experience, but I don’t think I’d make it again.

https://gourmania.com/recipe/moroccan-mashed-potato-casserole-batata-bil-firan/

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Sesame Tofu with Coconut Lime Dressing and Spinach

Spinach and tofu aren’t ingredients I frequently put together, so I was intrigued when I found this recipe for sesame-crusted tofu over a bed of cooked spinach. The recipe was pretty easy to make, and didn’t take too long. The coconut dressing and cooked spinach were delicious. I used doubanjiang instead of sambal olek. The recipe called for 2 tbsp sambal olek. I used about 1/3 tsp of doubanjiang and thought that was just right. I’m pretty sure I cut the oil in the dressing and I’m sure I cut the oil in the frying, but I’m not sure by how much.

There were major issues with the tofu portion of the recipe. There was at least double the sesame-panko mixture as was actually needed. The recipe makes a whole cup to coat 1 block of tofu!! There was also at least double the egg yolk mixture as well. Since the tofu is dipped in egg yolk instead of soy sauce (as with my mother’s baked tofu recipe), the inside of the tofu is very bland. I’m not sure if the egg yolk is necessary to make the mixture stick (which it did very well). I might experiment with a soy sauce water mixture and see if that worked. The other major issue with the recipe is that there was way too much sesame on the tofu to my taste (1/2 a cup!!!!). If I made this again (which I might) I’d cut the sesame in half and leave the panko the same. I suspect that would still make way too much of the mixture, but I’d start with that.

All of the tofu issues aside, I really liked the tofu, spinach, dressing mixture. I served it over rice noodles. I did wish there was more spinach. Next time I’d make 1.5 the spinach part of the dish.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021982-sesame-tofu-with-coconut-lime-dressing-and-spinach?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page&region=recently-viewed&rank=17

Sauteed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach

In my quest to find new recipes to try in old cookbooks, I found this simple recipe for sauteed seitan with mushrooms and spinach in Veganomicon. I made the seitan the night before. With the seitan pre-made, this is a true weeknight dish. It took me about half an hour to cook and I made the whole thing in one pot. I made this while I was taking a break from my low fodmap diet. With onions, garlic, and mushrooms galore, it is decidedly not low fodmap. Make sure you make this in a pan with tall sides, it needs a lot of room to cook.

This was okay. Not bad for something so easy to make on a weeknight, but I’m not sure that seitan and spinach make an amazing combination. I tried eating it over rice, which was fine, noodles, which wasn’t great, and risotto, which didn’t work at all. If I happened to have these ingredients and need to whip up something quick, I’d consider making this again. But I don’t think I’d seek it out. If I did, I’d use more spinach (maybe 1.5x the amount called for). The amount of spinach seemed crazy, but it actually wasn’t much when it cooked down. I thought there wasn’t enough for the amount of seitan.

http://epicureanvegan.com/2010/01/21/sauteed-seitan-with-mushrooms-and-spinach/

Shredded Parsnip and Beet Salad in Pineapple Vinaigrette

I’ve been trying to go back to old cookbooks and try new recipes that I’ve previously overlooked. In one of these reviews, I found this intriguing slaw in Veganomicon. I previously overlooked the recipe because I don’t really care for parsnips. But I love beets and am eating more pineapple since it’s one of the low fodmap fruits I can eat, so I thought I’d try it. The recipe is pretty easy to make. You just shred the raw veggies, chop mint, and then combine the vinaigrette ingredients.

The vinaigrette calls for an absurd amount of pineapple juice (2 cups). I used 1.5 cups and thought it was still an unnecessary amount. The slaw was a bit too wet and sweet for me. Even with the nice mint flavor and the beets, the flavor of the parsnips was offputting to me. I found I could only eat small amounts of this at a time. On the plus side, it kept for two weeks in my fridge without going bad because of the pineapple juice. I don’t think I’d make it again, but if I did I’d swap half the parsnips for carrots and halve the pineapple juice.

http://recipeofhealth.com/recipe/shredded-parsnip-and-beet-salad-in-pineapple-vinag-579200rb

Spinach Raita

Raita is one of my all time favorite foods. As a kid my parents used to take me to an Indian buffet, where I would proceed to only eat raita and naan. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the other dishes, but why eat other things when that would just take up precious raita storage space. As an adult I rarely (but not never) eat raita only meals. But adulthood hasn’t dampened my love of the dish at all. Sadly, eating seasonally means no cucumber raita in the winter. So I was intrigued when I found this recipe for spinach raita in Indian Vegetarian Cooking at Your House.

The recipe is described as a seasoned salad with yogurt and spinach, which is accurate. The veggie to yogurt ratio is much heavier on the veggie side than traditional raita. This recipe has about 3/4 cup of liquid to 1 cup of spinach plus extra veggies. I looked up other Palak Raita recipes and found they usually had a one to one ratio of raita to spinach with no extra veggies.

I really enjoyed the spices and the spinach went well with the yogurt. However, I thought the chopped carrots took away from the blended flavor of the dish. Next time I’d leave them out. I might also add an extra 2-3 tbsp of yogurt. Not as good as cucumber raita, but intriguing, healthy, and easy to make. I might make this again with a few tweaks. I’d like to try a different Palak Raita recipe first though.

Vegan Miso Marinated “Scallops”

I love mushrooms. But oysters are the only mushrooms that have been tested and deemed low fodmap by Monash University. So I haven’t had mushroom since last spring. I was at my local Asian market and was excited to see they were selling king oyster mushrooms. I had no idea what to do with them, but bought them anyways. When I got home and started searching online, I was surprised to find there weren’t a ton of king oyster recipes available. One thing I did see in several places were recipes that used king oysters as a substitute for scallops. This seemed intriguing. I made this recipe, but only the marinated scallops not the accompanying garlic sauce.

I liked but didn’t love the flavor and texture of these. I don’t imagine they’re anything like actual scallops. I just left them marinating in the fridge and then sauteed them as I wanted to eat them. I ate them over paella, which was a nice combo. Although I think risotto might have been better. I think they probably would have been even tastier with the garlic butter sauce, maybe I’ll try making that at some point.

Vegan Scallops & Garlic Butter Sauce

Butternut Congee

I’ve been wanting to try making congee for a while now. Simple and soothing, sounds good to me. I was intrigued by this recipe in the New York times for butternut squash congee with chile oil. I couldn’t use butternut squash since it’s high fodmap, so I used acorn squash instead. Maybe acorn squash is way more watery than butternut? Because the congee came out super watery. I’ve never had it before, but I can’t imagine that was the intended consistency. This wasn’t bad, but I do think the butternut would have made for a richer, sweeter porridge. I also didn’t add the chile oil because I’m avoiding spicy foods. I’m sure that would have made it more flavorful as well. This was alright, but I wasn’t jumping to eat the leftovers. Not sure if I’ll try making congee again. Time will tell.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023629-butternut-squash-congee-with-chile-oil?action=click&module=Collection%20Page%20Recipe%20Card&region=Vegetarian%20Comfort%20Food%20Recipes&pgType=collection&rank=3

Goddess Noodles with Tempeh and Broccoli

This is an easy recipe from Isa Does It. The noodles are coated in a thick tahini chive sauce that is very tasty, though I thought there needed to be a bit more of it. The tempeh is cut in squares and pan fried. While I liked noodles, I didn’t like tempeh. I’m not sure blocks of tempeh belong in any pasta dish. The flavor and texture of the tempeh interferes with the flavor and texture of the noodles. This might be better with chickpeas? Or maybe if the tempeh was crumbled so that the sauce could coat the tempeh like it coats the noodles.

http://herestheveg.blogspot.com/2021/05/goddess-noodles-with-tempeh-broccoli.html

Tahini-Glazed Carrots

I made these carrots for thanksgiving. The recipe came from the New York times. We enjoyed the flavor a lot, but the cooking times and proportions were off. The recipe says to halve larger carrots, which I did. But all the carrots still ended up undercooked. I would suggest not using large carrots, halving all carrots, and cooking for 40-45 minutes instead of the 30 minutes called for. I also halved the sauce recipe. Looking at it, it was very clear to me that this was way too much sauce for the amount of carrots. The halved sauce recipe made the right amount. I also find the sauce just a tad too sweet. Next time I’d use 2 tbsp instead of 3 tbsp maple syrup.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020458-tahini-glazed-carrots?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page&region=all&rank=18

Toasted Coconut Rice With Bok Choy and Fried Eggs

This is a super easy one pot recipe. And it’s totally low fodmap to boot! The recipe is made in layers so everything cooks the right amount of time. I made the dish at the beginning of the week, but just made one egg at a time as needed. I think this is a great basic recipe and I love the one pot idea, but the ratios were off. There was too much rice for the amount of veggies or eggs. I would double the amount of veggies. I also think this recipe probably calls for 5-6 eggs instead of 4.

I liked this and didn’t mind eating it all week (after adding more veggies) but I felt like the flavor was a bit on the bland side. I’d like to take this idea and play with it to add some complexity of flavor.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019494-toasted-coconut-rice-with-bok-choy-and-fried-eggs?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page&region=all&rank=159