Tag: Vegan

Borlotti Bean Mole with Roast Winter Squash

My sister posted this recipe on her blog. I’ve never actually made mole. Since this recipe just kind of creates the mole in the broth of the stew, it seemed like a good starter mole recipe. I used 85% chocolate instead of the 70% called for. I used two dried red chilies and two jalapenos and there was absolutely no spice in the final dish. It’s possible that somehow I ended up with jalapenos with no spice in them. Who knows. I also used double the kale called for.

The recipe calls for you to cook the dish in the oven for two hours. I did do this, but my sister says she didn’t and the dish tasted fine. So it might be an unnecessary step.

The final dish had a nice flavor, and I enjoyed eating it the first time. But I didn’t want to eat it the next day. It just wasn’t interesting or indulgent enough to hold my interest. I added 8 oz of cubed seitan, and I thought this really helped the dish. With the seitan it felt more indulgent and I enjoyed it for the rest of the week.

Borlotti Bean Mole with Roast Winter Squash

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Tofu Larb

I was recently turned on to the miracle of tofu lettuce wraps by a friend. This recipe for a vegetarian twist on Laotian larb intrigued me. The recipe is essentially a Laotian-flavored tofu salad in leaves of lettuce. Since I’ve never eaten traditional larb, I have nothing to compare it to.

I didn’t mind these, but didn’t love them either. The tofu mixture just wasn’t quite flavorful enough to keep my attention for more than one meal. Plus, every time I saw the mixture in the fridge, it just made me crave my favorite spiced tofu salad recipe. I did enjoy the interesting texture created by the toasted rice powder and fried onions. An interesting recipe to try, but I don’t think I’ll make it for a main course again. Though it might make a nice appetizer for a Thai/Laotian dinner. One commenter recommended adding vegan fish paste. I might try that for more flavor.

Update: Weirdly, even though I didn’t love these the first time I made them, I’ve found myself craving them since then. I finally made them again, this time adding 1/2 tbsp vegan fish sauce and using crushed peanuts instead of crispy onion since I’m eating low fodmap. The fish sauce did the trick and this was oh so tasty. I’m adjusting the score to reflect the fact that I really like these now!

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022299-tofu-larb?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page&region=tofu&rank=1

Lemon Walnut Hummus

I’ve made hummus at home tons of time. It’s always good, never great. Then I ventured into this walnut hummus recipe from page 35 of Fresh Food Fast and…oh I couldn’t get enough. No more hummus leftovers growing mold in the back of my fridge. I think the secret of the amazing flavor is in toasting the walnuts before adding them to the hummus. It creates a surprising warmth of flavor that I don’t get in standard sesame hummus. I try to avoid using the oven in summer. I used the toaster oven to toast the walnuts and was happy with the results. I’ll definitely be making this again.

Creamy Vegetable Tahini Soup

This recipe is from page 259 of Diet for a New World. I LOVE this recipe. I’ve made it a ton of times. You can pretty much put in whatever veggies you feel like, as long as you include the tomatoes (I used canned). I really like it with kale. The recipe says to cook the second round of veggies (broccoli plus whatever else) for 5 minutes, but I’ve found the broccoli ends up a bit overcooked this way. I recommend 4 minutes instead. The tahini broth is so indulgent and rich. And yet I feel healthy eating it because veggies and soup? Plus it only takes a few minute to make if you’ve already pre-cut the veggies. This is a winter staple for me.

https://recipeland.com/recipe/v/creamy-vegetable-tahini-soup-43382

Messy Rice

This recipe is from page 118 of Veganomicon. It takes like messy rice from a restaurant but is much healthier. Very solid.

8/16/22 Update: I made this recently for the first time in a long time. The rice ended up under-cooked. This sort of jogged my memory that the liquid proportions in the dish may be a bit off. Next time I’ll add a bit of extra water.