Pumpkin Chipotle Rice

Depending on your preference, you can make this with a fried rice texture or more of a gumbo texture - play with the water to see what you like. Do not go below 1 cup! The original recipe is from Vegan Richa. 

Ingredients

1 c. long grain brown basmati rice
1 c. dried kidney beans
1 tsp. avocado or other neutral oil
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 1/2 c. veggies, chopped (frozen actually work well here!)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. thyme
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1/3 c. pumpkin puree
2-3 c. water or broth

For garnish: 

Pickled jalapeno
Cilantro 
Lime juice

Directions

Soak the rice and beans in hot water for 20+ minutes. Wash, drain, and set aside. 

Oil the bottom of the Instant Pot and set to sauté. Lightly sauté the onions and jalapenos. Add all other ingredients and mix well. 

Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. Let the pressure release for 8 minutes, then quick release. Open the lid, fluff, taste, and adjust flavor. 

Transfer the rice to a serving bowl so it doesn't continue to cook in the hot Instant Pot. Top with garnishes of choice and serve. 

Serves 5

1 serving = 190 calories

Fall Apart Carmelized Cabbage

From Bon Appetit. 

Ingredients
1/4 c. double-concentrated tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 2-lb. head of green or savoy cabbage
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
kosher salt
3 tbsp. dill, parsley or cilantro, chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix tomato paste, garlic, coriander, cumin, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Cut cabbage in half through the core. Cut each half through core into 4 wedges. 

Heat 1/4 olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if needed, add cabbage to pan cut side down and season with salt. Cook, turning occasionally, until lightly charred, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer cabbage to a plate. 

Pour remaining 1/4 olive oil into skillet. Add spiced tomato paste and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tomato paste begins to split and slightly darken, 2-3 minutes. Pour in enough water to come halfway up sides of pan (about 1 1/2 cups), season with salt and bring to a simmer. Nestle cabbage wedges back into the skillet. (They should have shrunk while browning, but a bit of overlap is okay.) Transfer cabbage to oven and bake, uncovered and turning wedges halfway through, until very tender, liquid is mostly evaporated, and cabbage is caramelized around the edges, about 40-50 minutes. 

Scatter herbs over cabbage. 

Pie Crust

Thank you, Nora Cooks for another terrific vegan dessert! 

Ingredients
1.5 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. vegan butter, cold and cut into cubes (I used Miyokos Unsalted)
1/4 c. vegetable shortening, cold and cut into several pieces
3-4 tbsp. ice water

Directions
Refrigerate the butter, shortening, and food processor pieces before beginning. Add flour, sugar, and salt to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

Add the cold butter and shortening. Process for about 10 seconds until it looks like a coarse meal. 

Drizzle in ice cold water, a tablespoon or two at a time. When the dough begins to clump together, stop. You may need to add 1 or 2 more tablespoons for it to come together. 

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Don't use your hands too much or it will warm the dough, making your crust less flaky and light. 

Roll the dough with a rolling pin to about 12-inch circle, and transfer to a pie place. You can roll the dough onto the rolling pin, lift and place into the pie pan. 

DO NOT PANIC IF IT IS NOT PERFECT. 

Gently push the pie crust all around the dish, trimming off excess and replacing spots that might need repair. Use pie crust immediately or refrigerate until you are ready to use it. 

Savory Sesame Miso Oatmeal

This recipe was adapted from Pickles & Honey. 

Ingredients
1/4 c. steel cut oats
1/2 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
pinch of garlic powder
1 tsp. white miso
black pepper, freshly ground
spinach or other greens
2 scallions
2 oz. pre-cooked tofu (I like Soy Boy's Smoked Tofu)
pickled cabbage, onions, or radishes
tuxedo sesame seeds

Directions

Combine coconut milk, broth, sesame oil, and garlic powder in a saucepan and bring to a light boil. Add oats and reduce heat to low. Cook until tender, stirring frequently. Towards the end of cooking the oats, add your miso and black pepper.  Once miso is dissolved, add your tofu and if you want your greens slightly cooked, add those. 

Garnish with remaining ingredients. 

Serves 1. 

Candied Jalapenos

Recipe adapted from Foodie With Family.

Ingredients
3 lbs. fresh firm, jalapeno peppers, washed
2 c. cider vinegar
6 c. white granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. celery seed
3 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

Directions
Wearing gloves, remove the stems from all of the jalapeno peppers. Discard the stems. Slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, white sugar, turmeric, celery seed, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Raise the heat to boiling again, add the pepper slices, return to a hard boil, then reduce the heat again and simmer for exactly 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar. Turn heat up under the pot with the syrup and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 6 minutes.

Use a ladle to pour the boiling syrup into the jars over the jalapeno slices. At this point, you can slap on a lid and stick in the fridge... or can them!

Insert a cooking chopstick to the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped pockets of air. Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-tip tightness.

Place jars in a canner, cover with water by 2-inches. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. When it reaches a full rolling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints. When timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack. Leave them to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours. When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean, damp washcloth then label. If you have leftover syrup, and it is likely that you will, you may can it in half-pint or pint jars, too. It's great as a spicy simple syrup.

Makes 4 to 6 half-pints.

Coconut Bacon

Coconut bacon makes an excellent topping for salads, avocado toast, and more! Thanks to The Minimalist Baker for this easy recipe! 

Ingredients
2 c. large flake unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp. avocado or another neutral oil
2 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. Liquid Smoke
1 pinch sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add coconut flake, oil, tamari, paprika, maple syrup, liquid smoke, sea salt, and black pepper. Toss to thoroughly coat.

Bake at 325 for 6 minutes, then stir and flip pan around. Bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until coconut bacon is crispy and golden brown. Watch carefully in the last minutes of cooking and be careful not to burn as it can go from brown to burnt very quickly.

Let cool for 10 minutes - it will continue crisping as it cools. Store leftovers covered at room temperature up to 1 week (sometimes more), or in the freezer for 1 month. 

Fills a "skinny" quart jar.

1/4 cup = 124 calories

Lemon Basil & Beet Hummus

Ingredients
4 lemon-sized beets
2 cups cooked chickpeas (about 1 can)
1/3 c. tahini
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, based on preference
Handful of fresh basil
Water (or aquafaba from cooking chickpeas)
Salt

Directions
Cook the beets until tender, using your preferred method. (I have both roasted and cooked them in the Instant Pot successfully.) Peel and chop the beets into pieces. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Combine all ingredients in a high-powered blender (I used a Vitamix) and blend until smooth; use as much water as necessary to get the ingredients moving and add more to achieve your desired consistency. Salt to taste.

Makes about 4 cups of hummus.

1 tbsp = 20 calories

Baked Ziti with Lentils & Tofu Béchamel

Thank you to Vegan Richa for this ridiculously easy and delicious pan of comfort! Plus, it's just 385 calories per serving.

Ingredients

12 oz. ziti (or similar pasta of choice)

1 24-oz. jar of your favorite pasta sauce

1/4 c. red lentils 

1/4 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped

2 c. water

To "doctor" your jarred sauce: 

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar or red wine

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, like basil, oregano, thyme

2 cloves garlic, minced

Tofu béchamel: 

7 oz. of silken tofu

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. miso or nutritional yeast (for an umami punch)

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 c. water

2 tsp. flour

Directions

In 9x13-inch pan, add the uncooked pasta and distribute evenly. Add the pasta sauce with "doctored" add-ins, lentils, walnuts, and water. Mix well. Taste; if the pasta sauce does not have enough salt, add some salt and mix really well and even it out with a spatula. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

For the tofu béchamel, blend all the ingredients until smooth, taste and adjust salt and flavor and set aside.

Remove the pan from the oven and carefully remove the foil. Now pour the tofu béchamel over the pasta and put it back into the oven and broil it for 5 to 8 minutes, until browning. Add a drizzle of olive oil, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil to serve.

NOTE: The first time I made this, I prepped the pasta-sauce mixture and tofu béchamel early in the day and refrigerated separately until about an hour before dinner. This worked beautifully.

Serves 4-6.

Creamy Corn & Chorizo Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

2 vegan sausages (Field Roast Chorizo is great here!)

1 ear of corn

1 lime

14.5 oz. diced tomatoes

1 dried ancho chile

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. chipotle morita powder

¼ c. vegan sour cream

4 corn tortillas

¼ oz. fresh cilantro

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel and dice the onion. Peel and slice the garlic. Remove sausages from packaging and slice into bite-size pieces. Cut corn kernels off the cob. Halve and juice the lime.

Heat 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add just half the diced onion, just half the sliced garlic, and a pinch of salt, and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add just 1 cup tomatoes, dried ancho chile, cumin, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ cup water. Bring smoky ancho sauce to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until browned and crispy in places, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining diced onion and remaining sliced garlic and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add corn kernels, chipotle morita powder, and sour cream, and stir well to combine.

Transfer the smoky ancho sauce to a blender. Add lime juice and blend on low until smooth. Taste, and add salt as necessary. Add ¼ cup smoky ancho sauce to an 8 x 8 baking dish.

Top each of the corn tortillas with creamy corn and chorizo filling. Roll each tortilla and place seam side down in the baking dish. Top enchiladas with remaining smoky ancho sauce and cover baking dish with foil. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Roughly chop the cilantro leaves and stems. Divide the creamy corn and chorizo enchiladas between plates. Top with chopped cilantro.

Serves 2.

Everything Mix

Ingredients

2 tbsp. poppy seeds

1 tbsp. white sesame seeds

1 tbsp. black sesame seeds

2 tbsp. dried garlic flakes

2 tbsp. dried onion flakes

2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions

Add to half-pint mason jar and shake.