Black Eyed Pea, Rice, & Mustard Green Stew

All credit here to the blog More to Love Vegan, which really IS more vegan to love, not to mention an absolutely delightful writing style (and don't I just sound veddy veddy!) I can't wait to try this. I'll have to sub out the 'chicken' stock since I have no 'chickenish' flavoring and only our own wonderful veg stock - maybe I can put in some sage, etc.

1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 medium onions, finely diced
3 bay leaves
2 celery ribs, diced
3 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons celery leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups black eyed peas (from 1 cup that has been soaked for at least 8 hours)
1.5 litres massel "chicken" stock
sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 bunch mustard greens
1 cup cooked brown rice

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a wide soup pot over medium heat until it becomes fragrant

2. Add the onions, bay leaves, celery, garlic, thyme, chile flakes, smoked paprika, cumin and celery leaves.

3. Cook stirring occasionally, until the onions have browned, about 20 minutes.

4. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the beans (drain them first if you used soaked dried) and the 1.5 litres of stock

5. Simmer, covered, until the beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper

6. Cut the mustard greens off at their stems and wash them. Add directly to the beans and let simmer for approximately 3 minutes.

7. Make your final seasoning adjustments.

8. Add a few spoonfuls of rice to each bowl and top with the stew. Serve with tabasco or hot sauce of choice.

Bok choy in coconut milk

Copied intact from http://www.hookedonheat.com/2007/08/23/sometimes-you-need-a-change/#more-214

BOK CHOY IN COCONUT MILK
Prep time: 10 min | Cooking time: 15 min | Serves: 2

1 big bunch bok choy, leaves and stems roughly chopped
1 small onion, sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp Sambal Olek/red chilli paste
2 cups coconut milk
salt, to taste

ADD onions, bok choy stems, garlic and chilli paste to coconut milk in a deep pan, and let it come to a boil over medium-heat. Stir ocassionally to allow garlic and chilli paste to blend well with the coconut milk.

ADD bok choy leaves, season with salt, and turn off the heat. Cover the pan and let it sit for a few minutes till the leaves begin to wilt.

Curried red lentil stew with chickpeas and rainbow chard

Recipe adapted from Epicurious, and copied intact from http://everybodylikessandwiches.blogspot.com/

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 heaping T of a medium-spiced curry paste
1/2 t dried red chili flakes
5 1/2 c vegetable broth
2 c red lentils
1 large bunch of rainbow chard, tough stalks removed, coarsely chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained

In a large pot, heat oil and saute onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Mix in curry paste and dried chilies and stir until well blended. Add broth and chard and bring to a boil. Add lentils and turn down heat to a simmer, adding the chickpeas to the mix. Cover and stir occasionally until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. Serve over brown rice and top with yogurt, if desired.

Ethiopian night!

We'd tried Ethiopian food for the first time a few months back, and found it rich and really different, with some wonderful new flavor combinations. The menu of the restaurant offered few vegan/vegetarian alternatives, so I wondered what we could do at home. Once we found a source for injera, the huge rounds of spongy, pancake-like bread, the rest was easy!

The menu included injera, attar allecha, Ethiopian lentils, and ye'abesha gomen. First, berberi spice mix. I made a bit extra for future use - and it will be used. Mike said it smells like gingerbread. check out the ingredients!

Eritrean Berberi (Red Pepper Spice Mixture)
I've taken the recipe from here, and chosen to make just 1/2 cup - I didn't know if it would be any good. And yes, it is. I think this would make a terrific spice mix to saute vegetables in.

1/3 cup ground red chili pepper (use dried peppers & grind them fine in the food processor
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/3 tablespoon onion powder
1/3 tablespoon ground ginger
1/3 tablespoon ground cloves
1/3 tablespoon salt
1/4 tablespoon ground cumin
1/3 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
2. Store mixture in an airtight container.

Atar Allecha
recipe source
"A spicy pea puree, goes very well with hot Injeera. Cooking time does not include soaking time for the peas." - quoting the original poster, PinkCherryBlossom.
This was perhaps my own favorite, and one I'll make again (very easy to make, too). With the texture of mashed potatoes, this dish would also be great as a samosa filling, - or, with some added vegetable broth - a nutritious and comforting soup. I have colitis, and it did not bother my stomach (lentils are a whole different story).

1/3 cup onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon corn oil
1 cup dried split green peas, soaked cooked and drained
1/2 teaspoon turmeric, ground (I grated whole turmeric root for this, having recently discovered it at a wonderful World foods market in Cary. Not sure it made a different, though)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons hot green peppers, finely chopped
1 cup water (I used veg broth)

1. Mash the peas. Set aside.
2. In dry pan over moderate low heat, stir fry the onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
3. Add oil and stir fry one minute more.
4. Add the mashed peas, tumeric, salt, and chili.
5. Mix well.
6. Add the water and cook 3-4 mins longer to reduce the mixture to a thick, green, well spiced puree.


Ye'abesha Gomen
Another dish from the fabulous PinkCherryBlossom, found here, the recipe author said "Vegetable dishes like this are served on one huge sourdough pancake, called an injeera. The veggies are dolloped on the huge injeera and a breadbasket of smaller injeeras are at hand to be torn into bits so that the veggies can be picked up with it. Can be served hot or cold." This is a very good collard dish, but I think I liked the other one, also posted here, better - the flavors are maybe too subtle for my heat-seaking tastebuds!

1 lb collard greens
1 cup red onions (chopped)
4 medium green peppers, sliced in strips
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon garlic (peeled and chopped)
16 ounces oil
salt

1. Wash collard greens, boil in medium pan until soft.
2. Remove from heat, drain, and cut into small pieces. Set aside.
3. Wash green peppers, remove seeds, slice lengthwise and set aside.
4. In the medium pan, cook onions over a low heat until brown adding a little water to prevent sticking and burning.
5. Add oil. Add collard greens and cook until water disappears.
6. Add all the spices and stir gently. One at a time, add the green pepper slices about 10 minutes before removing from heat.
7. Serve hot or cold.

finally, the fabulous
Ethiopian Lentils
posted here
As noted, I cannot really eat lentils without severe payback, but they were easy to make and delicious (a wonderful scent, too)! I used the berberi spice mix, detailed above, to spice this recipe.

2 cups dried lentils, picked over and washed
6 cups water (again, I used veg broth)
3/4 cup anaheim chilies, seeded and chopped
2 cups red onions, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup spiced butter (used vegetable oil instead)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon berbere, sauce
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1. Boil the lentils in water for 5 minutes Drain, reserving liquid.
2. In 4 quart saucepot, saute the Anaheim peppers and onions in the spiced butter until the onions are tender.
3. Add the lentils, 4c of the reserved liquid, and the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.
4. Cook, covered, over low heat 35-40 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

This was fun to make, but a lot of work. I find Ethiopian food interesting but since I can only buy injera in packages of 10 pieces (and it doesn't keep well, falling apart after freezing & thawing) it's not something I'll be making frequently. The peas will be on the menu!

Spicy garlic greens

this recipe was adapted from here

1 bunch collards
1/2 c leeks (or 1 L onion), chopped 2 T olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, cut into short strips
1/2 t red pepper flakes (or more!)
salt & pepper

Wash collards. Pull greens away from the stalks, discarding stalks (or saving them in your freezer with the rest of your veg peelings, for stock). Stack leaves and cut in 1/2" strips. Microwave with about 1/4 c water or veg stock for 3-5 minutes, covered, or place in steamer basket, and steam until tender (approximately 10 minutes). Remove immediately from heat.

Heat olive oil in heavy pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add onions and leeks. Saute until onions are translucent and leeks begin to brown. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, saute for 1-2 more minutes. Add bell pepper slices, and saute until tender (approximately 4-5 minutes).

Add collards to pan, and toss ingredients together thoroughly. Cover and turn heat on med-low for around 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or room temperature.

Aloo Saag (Indian curried spinach and potatoes)

This is a definite favorite! When I'm not feeling well (I have colitis) aloo saag goes down easy with no difficult-to-digest beans, tofu, or other bits.

1 lb. fresh spinach leaves, washed well (or frozen if you must)
2 cups 1/3"-dice potato (about 6 new potatoes or 2 medium baking potatoes: be aware that russets will tend to break down, unlike new potatoes - you may want to slightly undercook or wait until the end before gently folding them into the spinach mix)
4-6 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more as needed
1 tsp. garam masala
3 Tbsps. plain soy milk, plus more as needed
crushed red pepper to taste

serves 2 as main dish, 4-6 as a side
time 20-30 minutes

1 Wash the spinach leaves well and drain. Toss them in a pot along with a 1/2 cup of water. Heat on high for a few minutes, stirring, until the water starts to steam and the bottom leaves begin to wilt (if you're using frozen spinach, cook in microwave for 4-5 minutes). Give it a good stir, cover, lower heat, and cook for about 7 minutes, until just tender. Drain (don't worry about getting out all the water.) Puree until smooth in a blender or food processor.

2 Meanwhile, toss the diced potatoes in a pot with water to cover, and bring to a boil. Add a ½ tsp. of salt. Cook the potatoes for about 10-15 minutes, or until tender. Drain.

3 Heat up a couple tablespoons of oil in a good-sized, non-stick sauté pan. Saute garlic and onion over medium heat. Stir in the turmeric and cook a minute or two more.

4 Toss in the spinach puree and potatoes and stir well. Add the milk, salt, garam masala and a sprinkling of crushed red pepper to taste. Bring to a low bubble, and cook a few minutes more to let the flavors meld. If the mixture looks too dry, add a little more milk. Enjoy!

-- adapted from www.digsmagazine.com

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/veggies/aloo.shtml