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A New Focus

Today is an important day. Today I am changing the name of my blog. I am changing from Vegan For Meat Eaters to Happy Food Ninja. This is important as I am not only changing the name, but the focus. I will continue to highlight comforting vegan food, but will at times post non-vegan recipes. I am also going to shift from posting simply a brief recipe, to posting both a recipe and discussion. I am hoping to support you in the development of your own style. I want to teach you how to develop flavor, especially in vegan and vegetarian dishes, that will provide comfort and satisfaction. With this in mind most recipes will continue to be vegan food that meat eaters will enjoy.

If I am going to continue to focus on mostly vegan recipes why am I changing? Good questions. I have been thinking about the focus of my blog for a long time. I am personally no longer vegan, though I continue to eat a primarily vegan diet. I would like to be able to post some of my non-vegan recipes, but most importantly I would like to teach you to be comfortable cooking and following your instincts in the kitchen. My plan from here on out is to post a recipe, or general guideline, then talk about how I make choices to create a final product. I am calling it without a recipe, however, it is more cooking by the seat of your pants. Besides, my new name includes the title ninja and I’ve always wanted to be a ninja!

I will start this process by posting a recipe and discussion tomorrow. I have chosen tomorrow as my go date as it is Mother’s Day. My mother has been a huge influence on my cooking and experimentation in the kitchen. She has also been instrumental in supporting me through all the changes in my life, and has always been a role model for being unafraid of trying new things. She might not know how to do everything, but that won’t stop her from trying. Through cooking  I believe she has instilled that lack of fear in me which I hope to pass on to you.

Let’s start out with a quote from my mom: “I always follow the recipe, unless it is wrong.” While recipes are often right for the person who created them, you might want to add your own style and I want to encourage that. We will start tomorrow with a recipe passed on from my mother to me, and one I will pass to my daughter. A recipe that is both a staple and one to delight. Stop back tomorrow at happyfoodninja.com

 

 

A Vegan Mother’s Day In Food

Vegan Blueberry Muffin
Vegan Blueberry Muffin

So you’re looking for food to serve the vegan mother in you life for Mother’s Day. Good job; you’re working hard to fulfill her desires and it will be appreciated. Just for you, I’ll tell you what I would love for a food-filled vegan Mother’s Day.

Vegan Hot Chocolate

1. Start with vegan hot chocolate. If she’s into it, and most mothers are, add a shot, or ten, of espresso to make this a mocha.

 

Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

2. For first breakfast choose something savory such as a tofu breakfast sandwich, or just a delightful jalapeno bagel. If your special vegan is also gluten free try this savory oatmeal. For extra credit you can make the bagel at home. Just for you I made a video in case you’re going for the big wow factor.

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

3. Of course, she will need a late morning snack. I suggest something sweet again and bakery quality. Maybe a blueberry muffin or cinnamon bun with another cup of coffee. Preferably iced at this point.

Vegan Chili Salad

4. Just a salad for lunch please to balance the morning and get her ready for the delightful dinner you are going to prepare.

 

 

Vegan Smoky Bean Dip5. Now a little appetizer of happy comfort served up in this smoky bean dip.

 

Vegan Lentil Tacos with Homemade Refried Beans

6. For dinner I’m going between these lentil tacos, or a pasta with vegan alfredo sauce. Hmm, I guess I’ll leave it up to the cook.

 

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake7. Dessert, the most important part of the day! You have a few options, but in my world they are all chocolate. My first choice would be this vegan French Silk Pie. You could also do a chocolate cake, or chocolate chip cookies.

8. Good luck and thank you. The person you are cooking for will love the fact that you took the time to figure out and make something special just for her. Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Vegan Pesto Patties With Roasted Eggplant and Quinoa

Vegan Pesto Patty
Vegan Pesto Patty

Mmmm, pesto. I love the stuff. I had a batch in the refrigerator after hosting a pasta party with other popular sauces. I wanted to make something with the flavor of pesto, other than pasta or hummus, my two go-to recipes for pesto. We make a lot of patties in our house with a combination of whatever leftovers are in the fridge. This seemed like a yummy place to use my pesto. These come together quickly and are very little work. In the picture they are served with roasted eggplant slices, pesto quinoa, and marinara sauce. They would be good in many ways, so experiment. The one caution is to make sure you do not over-process these or the patties will be mushy. They will still taste good, the texture just won’t be super awesome.

Pesto Patties 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans, or one 15 oz can, drained
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup prepared pesto
  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 1 tsp salt.
  • Olive oil for frying patties

Instructions

  1. Place oats in food processor and process until ground to a flour.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until the mixture is starting to hold together, but there are still chunks of walnuts and garbanzo beans.
  3. Heat oil over medium high heat in a cast iron skillet.
  4. Shape mixture into patties and fry in batches, about 4 minutes on each side. This made 6 large patties for me.

Optional additions

Roasted eggplant:

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Slice eggplant in 1/8″ slices.
  3. lightly oil a baking pan with olive oil.
  4. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer in the pan, and brush more olive oil over the tops.
  5. Cook about 30 minutes, flipping eggplant halfway through.
  6. Salt lightly before serving.  

Quinoa:

  1. Rinse 1 cup quinoa in a fine mesh strainer under cold water until the water runs clear.
  2. Place quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook about 15 minutes until broth is absorbed.
  3. Remove quinoa from heat and stir in 2 TBL prepared pesto if desired.

Marinara:

  1. Heat a jar of your favorite marinara.
  2. Serve with pesto patties.

Savory Oatmeal with Kale and Walnuts

Savory Oatmeal with Kale and Walnuts
Savory Oatmeal with Kale and Walnuts

As strange as this meal sounds, it is quite delicious. Wolfie is sensitive to something and I have been on a major elimination diet to try and figure it out. One of the things I have been eating a lot of for breakfast during this time is oatmeal. Well I’m just plain sick of sweet oatmeal and I needed something savory for breakfast. This has been my go-to breakfast for the last few weeks. It would also work for a dinner if you called it oat risotto or something fancy like that. I was hesitant to try a savory oatmeal, but I needed the salt. Ohh, do I love salt. I am now looking forward to breakfast again. Anyway, here is a wonderful entry to the world of savory oatmeal, and one of the healthiest breakfasts you can find. This combination is one that actually keeps me full for several hours unlike most anything I eat in the morning. This is also gluten free if you make sure to use gluten free oats. I hope you enjoy it.

Savory Oatmeal with Kale and Walnuts 

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups chopped kale
  • 1 TBL olive oil, or 1/4 cup water
  • 2/3 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts or seeds (toasted if you desire)
  • 1 TBL nutritional yeast
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat large skillet over medium heat.
  2. Add oil or water and kale, sauteing until tender, 7-10 minutes. -If you cook the kale in oil it will get a bit crispy and yummy bitter like kale chips. If you want your kale more tender as if steamed use water.
  3. While kale is cooking, heat vegetable broth in a small saucepan to a boil.
  4. Once vegetable broth is boiling, add rolled oats and cook, stirring occasionally until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
  5. Once oatmeal is cooked remove from heat and stir in nutritional yeast.
  6. Add salt to kale to taste, then place kale on a plate, top with cooked oatmeal and nuts.
  7. Serve immediately.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I was staying with a friend a few weeks ago and we decided to make cookies. I was all like “no problem, I’ll just go on my blog and grab my recipe.” Much to my dismay I found that I have NEVER blogged my chocolate chip cookie recipe. I am truly sorry. You have been missing out on some amazing, and easy to make cookies because I was sure they were already here. I make these cookies a lot. Way more than I should. I love them right out of the oven, so much so that I have justified eating 3 or 4 every time I make them because they just don’t taste the same the rest of the batch. My husband loves them frozen. After I have eaten as many cookies as I can in one sitting (they must still be warm while consuming) I freeze the rest of the batch. This is a recipe only slightly adapted from “How It All Vegan” by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. I love this recipe because there are no crazy substitutions to make them vegan, and they taste amazing!

 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup Earth Balance
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 TBL water
  • 2 /14 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 – 2 cups chocolate chips

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. In a medium bowl cream together coconut oil, Earth Balance, brown and white sugar, vanilla extract, and water mixing until smooth and creamy.
  3. Add flour, baking soda, and salt giving dry ingredients a stir before combining with the creamed mixture. Mix dry and creamed mixture just until combined.
  4. Add chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.
  5. Drop cookie dough by the spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets leaving 2″ between each cookie.
  6. Bake for 7-9 minutes until golden brown.
  7. Transfer from cookie sheet onto cooling rack immediately.
  8. Wait a few minutes before eating to prevent burning your mouth on hot chocolate chips.
  9. Enjoy responsibly.

My mom and Spice Cake

It’s Mother’s Day. Pretty late in the day on Mother’s Day. Don’t worry, I have a plan. First a bit about my mom, then a recipe from my mother’s mother’s mother (my great grandmother): Spice Cake!

My mom:  As you may have noticed I reference my mother frequently on my blog. This is because she is the reason I cook. She is pretty much the reason I do everything, but for now let’s focus on the cooking. Many of my earliest memories are cooking with my mother. I still distinctly remember standing on a chair and being taught how to measure flour correctly. From a very young age I was allowed to experiment with food. I have a recipe I wrote before I could spell apple. My efforts were encouraged and I never remember a time I was scolded for making a mess. My mother’s endless patience is something I wish I had inherited. My mother always took the time to explain how things work, and why we do what we do. If she didn’t know, we looked it up. Questions were encouraged and always answered. This parenting philosophy was carried out in the kitchen and out. I know that I have the self assurance that I do because of my mother. I can’t thank her enough. A friend recently asked my if my mother is always the way she is now. She had to explain. She said “you know, the perfect ideal of a Midwestern mother.” Oh, that. Yes she has always been that. I told my friend stories about when I was a teenager my friends would come over to hang out with my mom, and eat. She has always had more love and more food than anyone I know. I love you mommy. Happy Mother’s Day.

Now for the spice cake. This ties in, I promise. I love cooking. My mother loves cooking, and my mother’s grandmother loved cooking. Pretty much everyone on my mother’s side is an excellent cook, but the passion has skipped around a bit. This recipe for Spice Cake has been adapted to be vegan. It has been passed down from my great grandmother to now grace your table on Mother’s Day (if you’re also running very late), or day of the year to make it special. The spices are warming and will remind you of the warmest most loving grandmother you can think of.

Gramma’s Spice Cake 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup non-dairy milk
  • 1 tsp. vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 TBL vegetable shortening
  • 1 tsp. psyllium husks mixed with 2 TBL water
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 370F.
  2. Add vinegar to milk and set aside.
  3. Cream together sugar and shortening until smooth.
  4. Add the psyllium husk/water mixture to sugar and mix together.
  5. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
  6. Alternate between adding flour mixture andc milk to the shortening, mixing thoroughly between additions.
  7. Pour batter into a greased 9×9 cake pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until cake pulls away from the edges of the pan.

Bell Pepper and Tomato Rice

South Indian Bell Pepper and Tomato Rice
South Indian Bell Pepper and Tomato Rice

This rice dish is a South Indian dish from my childhood. I was lucky enough to learn how to make this from Alamelu Vairavan, the author of “The Art of South Indian Cooking” who was a friend of my mother. I still remember the smell of this dish as she made it the first time I tried it at a small cooking class. It is still one of my favorite dishes. I just made it today for a potluck. It was a hit and my dish was scraped clean. The dish comes together very quickly once the rice is cooked and tastes like you worked all day to achieve the depth of flavor. Good luck my friends.

South Indian Bell Pepper and Tomato Rice 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups basmate rice
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 TBL olive oil
  • 1/2 bay leaf
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 large onion, but into strips
  • 1 large tomato cut into small chunks
  • 2 small jalapenos or Serrano chili peppers, minced
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
  • 1 TBL curry powder
  • 1 TBL salt
  • 3 cups coarsely chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 cup lightly salted cashews
  • 1/4 earth balance buttery spread, or butter
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, minced

Instructions

  1. Cook rice in water until tender, about 20 minutes.
  2. Cool rice one hour so the grains will not stick together (if you have time)
  3. Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium heat.
  4. When oil is hot, but not smoking, add the cumin, fennel and cinnamon.
  5. Stir and brown for about 30 seconds.
  6. Add the onion, tomato and chili peppers and saute one minute.
  7. Add the tomato sauce, turmeric, curry, salt and green bell peppers.
  8. Cook and stir occasionally until the bell peppers are just tender, 1-2 minutes.
  9. Stir in the cooked rice and immediately reduce heat to low.
  10. Stir in the cashews and butter.
  11. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve warm.

Vegan Thai Red Curry

Vegan Thai Red Curry
Vegan Thai Red Curry

Yummy, yummy Thai food. I have loved Thai for as long as I can remember. When I was younger my best friend had a friend of the family who was Thai. She made the best Pad Thai I have ever eaten. My friend was able to talk her into a few cooking lessons, and I was able to talk my friend into the recipes which I have adapted slightly. Red Curry is one we make a lot at my house. It is one of my husband’s favorites, and I can make it in under 20 minutes, so it hits to table on a regular basis. This is a recipe people just do not believe is vegan because it is so flavorful and satisfying.

Few notes: You can use any kind of curry paste you like, and how much you use will depend on the brand and how spicy you like your food. If you don’t have mushroom broth power you can use vegetable broth powder, or sub vegetable broth for the water in the recipe.

Vegan Thai Curry

  • Ingredients
  • 2 TBL coconut oil
  • 1 block extra firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
  • 2 TBL tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 TBL coconut oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 oz Mushrooms, sliced (optional)
  • 1 13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup water + 1 TBL mushroom broth powder or 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 oz Mushrooms, sliced (optional)
  • 3 cups other veggies whatever you like cut into bite size pieces
  • juice of half a lime (1-2 tablespoons)
  • 1-3 TBL red curry paste (depending on the brand and how spicy you like it)
  • 2 TBL tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 TBL brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot add a few tablespoons coconut oil, let it heat for just a few seconds, then add the tofu to the pan in a single layer.
  2. Cook the tofu without touching it for 2 minutes, until it is golden brown on one side. Flip/stir it and cook until golden brown on all sides.
  3. Turn off the heat in the pan, and pour 2 TBL tamari over the tofu. Set it all aside.
  4. Heat 1 TBL coconut oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
  5. Add the mushrooms and onions, cooking briefly until fragrant (about 3 minutes)
  6. Add coconut milk, water, broth powder, and veggies to the pan.
  7. Heat everything to a simmer over med/low heat.
  8. Simmer veggies until almost tender, about 5-10 minutes
  9. Add lime juice, curry paste, 2 TBL tamari, and sugar.
  10. Taste and add adjust the sugar (sweet), tamari (salty), lime (acid/brightness), and curry paste (spice and flavor) to your liking.
  11. Heat through and serve hot over rice.

Vegan Gravy with Mushrooms, Onions and Kale

Vegan Gravy
Vegan Gravy

This vegan gravy rocks. I could be more modest I suppose, but it really is yummy. I often make it in the fall, but it is cool and rainy her in Maine right now and it got me thinking of yummy warming foods. I make the gravy with mashed potatoes most often and serve it on Chickpea Cutlets from the Veganomicon, my favorite vegan cookbook. I also sometimes add lentils and have it on biscuits for breakfast. Last thanksgiving I layered the gravy with seitan, mashed potatoes, scalloped corn and biscuits for a one dish thanksgiving. If you’re luck I’ll post that wonder sometime. For now you may have gravy.

Ingredients

  • 2 TBL olive oil
  • 2 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 cup chopped kale
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup water or veggie broth
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 TBL mushroom broth powder (if using water)
  • 1 tsp sage
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • salt (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 TBL nutritional yeast
  • dash cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet.
  2. Add mushrooms, onions and kale and cook until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes.
  3. While the veggies are cooking mix flour and water to make a smooth paste.
  4. Add the flour/water mixture to the vegetables while stirring.
  5. Quickly whisk in the milk and cook about 1 minute to thicken. If too thick add more milk or water.
  6. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients and cook about 2 more minutes.
  7. Taste and add salt to your liking.

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

So my blueberry bushes have been growing more blueberries than I thought four bushes could grow. Granted I have never seen a giant blueberry bush before, but still… In our last harvest they were looking a little peaked so I had to use them quickly. I added some to pancakes, made these delicious vegan blueberry muffins, and froze the rest for future deliciousness. You could really use any fruit in this recipe, I have used strawberries in the past and loved them. A very good impressive vegan muffin. You could never tell they are vegan.

Ingredients

Vegan Blueberry Muffin
  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • ½ cup Sugar
  • ¼ Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • ¾ Cup nondairy milk
  • 1/3 Cup Canola Oil
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Cup Fresh or Frozen  blueberries
  • 1 Teaspoon Almond Extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease muffin tins.
  2. Mix together your dry ingredients (Flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda.)
  3. Gently stir in milk, oil, and vanilla but be careful not to over-mix. A few lumps are okay!
  4. Fold in your thawed blueberries.
  5. Pour batter into muffin tins, ¾ of the way to the top.
  6. Slide your filled tins into the oven and cook for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
  7. Fresh out of the oven they are still young and impressionable, so don’t try to remove them immediately or you will end up with smushed, dented muffins! Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes inside their cooking vessel. Enjoy with someone you love.